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Dollywood temporarily suspends park entry due to nearby wildfire

Published Mon, 30 Dec 2024 20:22:52 GMT

PIGEON FORGE, Tenn. (AP) — Dolly Parton’s Dollywood temporarily suspended entry Thursday into the Tennessee amusement park as wildfire crews on Thursday battled nearby flames. Park officials say they paused entry to allow fire crews enough room to assess the growing blaze in Sevier County east of Knoxville. Guests were eventually allowed reentry within 30 minutes.According to the Tennessee Division of Forestry, the blaze was roughly two miles (3.2 km) away from Dollywood.Tim Phelps, the forestry division’s spokesperson, on Thursday said the 5-acre fire was 100% contained. The division deployed eight personnel, three bulldozers and five trucks to fight the fire, he added.Across the South, the risk of wildfires has remained high due to prolonged dry and warm conditions, prompting multiple burn bans and warnings for residents and visitors to take extreme caution while outdoors. This includes the National Park Service, which issued a campfire ban throughout the Great Smoky M...

Lions host Bears, look to keep 2-game lead in NFC North with 3-decade drought without division title

Published Mon, 30 Dec 2024 20:22:52 GMT

DETROIT (AP) — The Detroit Lions are off to a strong start in their quest to end a three-decade drought without a division title.Detroit (7-2) has its best record through nine games since 2014, giving the revitalized franchise a two-game lead over Minnesota in the NFC North.The Lions still have a lot of work to do against divisional foes to finish in first place. They’ve played only one NFC North team two-plus months into the season, winning at Green Bay.Detroit will face five of eight teams within the division to close the regular season, starting with the Chicago Bears on Sunday at Ford Field.“This is like winning two games a little bit when you play these division games,” coach Dan Campbell said. “So, it’s important.”Campbell said it’s imperative for the team to stay focused and hungry because the Vikings (6-4) are surging and potentially can make up ground when the teams meet twice over the last three weeks.“You’ve got to keep winning and then when the time com...

PGA Tour RSM Classic Scores

Published Mon, 30 Dec 2024 20:22:52 GMT

ThursdayAt Sea Island Golf ClubSt. Simons Island, Ga.Purse: $8.4 millionSeaside Course (SS)Yardage: 7,005; Par: 70Plantation Course (PL)Yardage: 7,060; Par: 72Partial First RoundSuspended for DarknessEric Cole (PL)33-33—66Cameron Young (PL)32-34—66Davis Thompson (PL)34-32—66Matt Kuchar (SS)33-32—65Ludvig Aberg (PL)34-33—67Ricky Barnes (PL)32-35—67Russelll Knox (SS)32-34—66Tommy Gainey (SS)33-33—66Robert Streb (SS)33-33—66Brendon Todd (PL)33-35—68Brandon Wu (SS)33-34—67Luke List (SS)33-34—67Kelly Kraft (PL)32-37—69Robby Shelton (PL)35-34—69Mark Hubbard (PL)35-34—69Stephan Jaeger (PL)33-36—69Nico Echavarria (PL)36-33—69Chris Kirk (PL)33-36—69Ryan Moore (PL)34-36—70Aaron Baddeley (PL)34-36—70Sung Kang (PL)35-35—70Kevin Chappell (PL)33-37—70Paul Haley II (PL)35-35—70Carson Young (SS)35-33—68J.J. Spaun (SS)34-34—68Tyler Duncan (SS)33-35—68Adam Schenk (SS)35-35—68Matt NeSmith (PL)35-36—71Will Gordon (PL)37-34—71M.J. Daffue (PL)34-37—71Justin Lower (PL)37-34—71Harrison Endycott (PL)35-36—7...

Story of a devastating wildfire that reads ‘like a thriller’ wins Baillie Gifford nonfiction prize

Published Mon, 30 Dec 2024 20:22:52 GMT

LONDON (AP) — A book about a fire that ravaged a Canadian city and has been called a portent of climate chaos won Britain’s leading nonfiction book prize on Thursday.John Vaillant’s “Fire Weather: A True Story from a Hotter World” was awarded the 50,000 pound ($62,000) Baillie Gifford Prize at a ceremony in London.Chair of the judging panel Frederick Studemann said the book tells “a terrifying story,” reading “almost like a thriller” with a “deep science backdrop.”British Columbia-based writer Vaillant recounts how a huge wildfire that engulfed the oil city of Fort McMurray in 2016. The blaze, which burned for months, drove 90,000 people from their homes, destroyed 2,400 buildings and disrupted work at Alberta’s lucrative, polluting oil sands.Studemann called “Fire Weather,” which was also a U.S. National Book Award finalist, “an extraordinary and elegantly rendered account of a terrifying climate disaster that engulfed a community and industry, underscoring our toxic relationship w...

Se forma potencial ciclón tropical Veintidós en el Caribe, según el Centro Nacional de Huracanes de EE.UU.

Published Mon, 30 Dec 2024 20:22:52 GMT

(CNN) — El potencial ciclón tropical Veintidós se formó sobre el mar Caribe occidental, según la actualización de las 4 pm del Centro Nacional de Huracanes (NHC por sus siglas en inglés). El sistema de tormentas se encuentra a unas 365 millas (587 kilómetros) al oeste-suroeste de Kingston, Jamaica, con vientos de 35 mph (56 km/h).Actualmente se espera que el sistema se fortalezca hasta convertirse en tormenta tropical a primera hora del sábado, momento en el que se convertiría en tormenta con nombre.La temporada de huracanes aún no termina, ¿cuándo y dónde podrían ocurrir los próximos?Se han emitido avisos de tormenta tropical para Jamaica, Haití, el sureste de las Bahamas y las Islas Turcas y Caicos.El NHC pronostica lluvias totales generalizadas de 127 a 254 mm con acumulaciones potenciales de hasta 406 mm en su camino hasta el lunes por la mañana.Crédito: NOAA“El movimiento inicial es incierto ya que el sistema aún no tiene un centro bien definido, pero el sistema de ...

Taxes, taxes taxes: What's in store for Colorado's special session

Published Mon, 30 Dec 2024 20:22:52 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — Colorado lawmakers head back to the Capitol on Friday for a special session to address rising property taxes after Proposition HH failed.Now, Democrats are looking at a scaled-down, one-year version to lower property taxes by handing out uniform refunds under the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights. The tax surplus would then help fund local districts, like schools, libraries and fire departments instead. Denver Auditor decries city’s lack of safe, habitable spaces Bell Policy Center President Scott Wasserman joined “Colorado Point of View” ahead of the special session to walk through the proposals and the pushback.The leader of the left-leaning think tank said a big criticism of Prop HH was that renters felt left out. Now, Wasserman argues legislators need to focus on helping those who are really struggling. "So the question right now is: Who needs the most help, and what would make this biggest impact? So this is why we’re talking about the earned income tax credit," Wasse...

Walmart settlement funds will go to food pantries, diaper programs

Published Mon, 30 Dec 2024 20:22:52 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser announced that $3 million in Walmart settlement funds will go to food banks, pantries and diaper programs throughout the state.The Colorado Department of Law will transfer $2.5 million to the Colorado Department of Human Services to provide funding to their partners, Weiser announced on Thursday. Colorado plastic surgeon sentenced in patient’s death after anesthesia mishap Some $2 million will go to food banks and pantries, while $500,000 is dedicated to diaper programs. The remaining money will be given out as grants."We committed to find a way to use those funds to support people who are struggling with food insecurity, knowing that many people are looking at their groceries saying, 'Can I afford to buy food?'" Weiser said.The funding comes from a settlement Weiser made with Walmart last year for overcharging customers.Food bank demand continues to growUnder the terms of the settlement, the funds will be used to support...

Colorado Buffaloes vs. Washington State: TV channel, time, what to know

Published Mon, 30 Dec 2024 20:22:52 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — The University of Colorado Buffaloes and head coach Deion Sanders have two games left in the season, both on the road. And if they are looking at bowl eligibility, they'll need to win out.The first matchup comes Friday night against Washington State. The Buffs and the Cougars are both 4-6, meaning this should be a pretty evenly matched game for the prime-time audience. CU football announces 2024 Big 12 opponents The bigger hurdle comes next week when the Buffs travel to Utah two days after Thanksgiving.How to watch Colorado vs. Washington State on TVWhile this is a Pac-12 matchup, fans won't need to dig too far into their cable bundles to watch it. FS1 is generally included in the lower-tier packages.CU vs. Washington State kickoff: 8:30 p.m. MTChannel: FOX Sports Where to watch CU Buffs games in Boulder: Bars, breweries and pubs Forecast for Colorado vs. Washington StateFriday’s game will be held in Everett, Washington at Washington State University. The high te...

MBTA needs $24.5 billion to fix system, officials say

Published Mon, 30 Dec 2024 20:22:52 GMT

MBTA officials have long been sounding the alarm about the poor state of the system’s infrastructure and lamenting years of disinvestment, and on Thursday they put an eye-watering new price tag on the myriad issues that have piled up: $24.5 billion.The T published a new analysis of the quality of its trains, tracks, signals, construction equipment and other assets, confirming the dire state of the system that is widely understood but has not been quantified in four years.Nearly two-thirds of all MBTA assets are not in a state of good repair, and it would cost $24.5 billion to fix all of those issues, the agency concluded in its latest assessment. That figure includes the costs only of addressing current problems, not regular maintenance for infrastructure in a state of good repair nor expansions, electrifications and other large-scale projects.The new estimate is nearly two and a half times more expensive than the last capital needs assessment produced in 2019 under the B...

Thousands lose power, roads flood as heavy rain and high winds lash South Florida metro areas

Published Mon, 30 Dec 2024 20:22:52 GMT

(CNN) — Torrential rain and powerful winds knocked out power across South Florida metro areas and prompted school closures on Thursday.Overnight flash flood warnings expired early Thursday, but South Florida could see periodic light rainfall through the day, particularly along the East Coast.Flood watches that affected millions across southeastern Florida have ended but a watch remained in place for nearly 1.5 million people along eastern Florida through the evening. High wind alerts are also in place across southern and eastern Florida, with 60 mph gusts expected in some areas.As of around 7 a.m. Thursday, more than 125,000 homes and businesses were without power in Florida, with Miami-Dade County accounting for more than half of those outages, according to outage tracking website Poweroutage.us.Even though the heaviest rainfall moved off the southeastern coast of Florida Thursday morning rain was still impacting areas where the soil is already saturated.“Drainage wi...