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Suncor’s Colorado refinery records more malfunctions than comparable facilities, EPA study finds

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 06:21:35 GMT

Suncor Energy’s oil refinery in Commerce City experiences more malfunctions that release toxic chemicals into the air than other similarly sized plants in the United States, the Environmental Protection Agency found in a report released Friday.Inadequacies in preventative maintenance, testing and inspections of various control systems and electrical equipment lead to excessive amounts of sulfur dioxide and hydrogen sulfide being released into the air, the EPA found. The refinery was compared to 11 other plants in the United States with the same production capacity, the report said.The report will be used by the EPA and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment during inspections so regulators can target specific equipment at the refinery, said KC Becker, the EPA’s Regin 8 director. The report also will be considered in permit updates and enforcement actions at the plant.“This isn’t just a paper exercise,” Becker said during a Friday morni...

Actor says he witnessed a murder in front of his house in Hollywood Hills 

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 06:21:35 GMT

A man was shot and killed in the driveway of a Hollywood Hills home early Wednesday morning, and now a famous actor has revealed that he and his wife witnessed the shooting unfold from their balcony. Adam Devine, known for his roles in the "Pitch Perfect" movie series and the sitcoms "Modern Family" and "Workaholics," said that he and his wife, actress Chloe Bridges, were sitting on their porch watching the party when the gunfire erupted. “Me and my wife are sitting up on our balcony [looking at the party] like ‘Oh, this looks crazy,’” Devine said on his "This Is Important" improv podcast. “And this is where it gets sad, someone was murdered there.” One of the podcast hosts used sound effects during Devine’s retelling of the story, which made it appear that some members of the crowd thought he was doing a bit. The victim of the shooting, 39-year-old Emil Lahaziel, was believed to have been standing in the driveway of the home, located in the 7800 block of Fareholm Drive, w...

Social Distortion founder Mike Ness reveals cancer diagnosis

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 06:21:35 GMT

Mike Ness, the lead singer of the legendary Orange County punk rock band Social Distortion, has revealed that he is battling stage-one tonsil cancer.Ness, 61, shared the diagnosis on his Instagram account Wednesday, saying his treatment has forced the band to postpone its summer tour.“We think that life is going to go according to our plan, but it has a way of saying ‘I don’t think so!’” Ness shared.He says the cancer diagnosis came during pre-production on a new Social Distortion album.“I was feeling well enough to continue with recording in the studio up until the very day before surgery. The band and I were so inspired and excited to lay down these tracks, which by the way sound f-ing AWESOME!,” he wrote.Ness formed "Social D" in Fullerton in 1978 at a time when the Sex Pistols, The Clash and The Ramones were emerging as major influential forces in the burgeoning international punk rock movement.Mike Ness, of Social Distortion, performs at Welcome to Rockville at Daytona Internat...

Three California Lottery players become instant millionaires from Powerball ticket, scratcher games

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 06:21:35 GMT

Three California lottery players became instant millionaires after playing lottery games, state lottery officials announced Friday.Two lottery players, Roger Jiminez and Michael Marks, won $1 million after playing the Sparkling Riches and Win Big scratcher games. New feature on California Lottery website puts players’ lucky numbers to the test Jiminez purchased the winning scratcher game at Heritage House Liquor in Tustin in Orange County, while Marks purchased the Sparkling Riches scratcher ticket at Sandune Liquor in Playa Del Rey in Los Angeles County.Jiminez didn’t realize he had won the scratcher game’s top prize until he looked at the ticket for a third time and noticed the six zeros. The newly minted millionaire told the lottery office he was thankful for the big win.Another lottery player, Orsiris Perez Olvera, also won a $1,044,212 after matching five out of the six numbers during a Powerball drawing in November. Olvera purchased the Powerball ticket at a 7 -Eleven on Mil...

2 men arrested in connection with carjacking of pizza delivery driver 

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 06:21:35 GMT

Two men have been arrested in connection with the carjacking of a Domino’s Pizza delivery driver in Burbank.According to the Burbank Police Department, officers responded to the 1500 block of North Naomi Street around 4:25 p.m. on Tuesday regarding a report of a carjacking. The victim told officers that he was delivering an order to a customer when he was confronted by two men in an alley who assaulted him, held him at gunpoint and demanded his keys. “Fearing for his life, the victim complied with the suspects' demands and handed over his keys,” the Burbank Police Department said in a statement. “The suspects then fled in the victim’s vehicle.” The suspects were not able to be located until Thursday afternoon, when investigators found the victim’s vehicle near the 6500 block of Radford Avenue in North Hollywood. The vehicle was being driven by a man believed to be one of the suspects in the carjacking, and he was arrested.  1 dead, 1 hospitalized in speed-relat...

Fentanyl, heroin, fake pills found in San Fernando Valley traffic stop, Sheriff's Office says

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 06:21:35 GMT

A San Fernando Valley traffic stop last week resulted in the seizure of hundreds of counterfeit oxycodone pills and multiple grams of heroin and fentanyl, the Ventura County Sheriff's Office said. The Ventura County Fentanyl and Overdose Crimes Units was investigating 47-year-old Northridge resident Richard Gonzalez when they pulled him over near Parthenia Street and Jellico Avenue in Northridge on June 2, the VCSO said in a news release. The unit, called VC FOCUS, sought Gonzalez for alleged drug trafficking in the county and a felony warrant for the sales and transportation of controlled substances while in possession of a loaded firearm, the VCSO said.After using the warrant to take Gonzalez into custody, investigators found 477 fake oxycodone pills, 7 grams of heroin and 5 grams of powder fentanyl, as well as drug packaging equipment and a scale, authorities said. The person driving the car, 59-year-old Luis Gonzales of Simi Valley, was taken into custody on an unrelated felony ...

Mysterious Covid-19 lineages in US sewers could offer clues to chronic infections

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 06:21:35 GMT

By Deidre McPhillips | CNNAs Covid-19 testing and other coronavirus tracking efforts peter out in the United States, wastewater surveillance has become the primary method to monitor early community spread of the virus. And there’s some evidence that close investigation of the findings could also help unravel some of the mysteries of long Covid.Genetic sequencing of wastewater samples from sewer systems across the country has uncovered dozens of unique strains of the coronavirus, with multiple mutations in unusual combinations.One possible explanation for these “cryptic lineages” is that they can be traced back to people who have been living with a chronic – and serious – Covid-19 infection for years.In a recent preprint study, about two dozen researchers set out to understand the origin of these cryptic lineages by closely examining the evolution of one from Wisconsin. The lineage was linked to a single facility that served 30 people and was persistently present for more than a year...

Trump described Pentagon plans, shared classified map, indictment says

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 06:21:35 GMT

By ERIC TUCKER, JILL COLVIN and ALANNA DURKIN RICHER (Associated Press)MIAMI (AP) — Former President Donald Trump described a Pentagon “plan of attack” and shared a classified map related to a military operation, according to a sweeping 37-count felony indictment related to the mishandling of classified documents that was unsealed Friday and that could instantly reshape the 2024 presidential race.The indictment paints a damning portrait of Trump’s treatment of sensitive information, accusing him of willfully defying Justice Department demands to return documents he had taken from the White House to Mar-a-Lago and even enlisting aides in his efforts to hide the records and even telling his lawyers that we wanted to defy a subpoena for the materials stored in his estate.“I don’t want anybody looking through my boxes,” one of Trump’s lawyers described the former president saying, according to the indictment. He also asked if it would be b...

Texas businessman linked to Paxton charged in $172 million loan deal

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 06:21:35 GMT

By Jake Bleiberg, Paul J. Weber and Jim Vertuno | Associated PressAUSTIN, Texas — A Texas businessman at the center of the scandal that led to the historic impeachment of state Attorney General Ken Paxton was charged Friday with making false statements to mortgage lenders to obtain $172 million in loans.The federal indictment of real estate developer Nate Paul is the result of a yearslong FBI investigation — a probe Paxton involved his office in, setting off a chain of events that led to a separate federal probe of the attorney general and his impeachment and suspension from office last month.Paul was charged with eight counts of making false statements while seeking loans from mortgage lenders in the U.S. and Ireland. There was no mention of Paxton or the attorney general’s office during the hearing.Paul, 36, who entered the federal courtroom shackled and wearing jeans, a blue shirt and Nikes, did not enter a plea during his initial appearance in an Austin court nor visibly r...

Pandemic aid saved millions of Americans from eviction and the data proves It

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 06:21:35 GMT

By Jennah Haque | BloombergEdwin Bautista was a senior at the University of Texas at Austin and part-time technician at a consulting firm when inflation started to ravage his spending power. After his rent surged past $1,000 a month in early 2021 he feared he would have to move out — until he got a $7,300 lifeline from the federal Emergency Rental Assistance Program.That kept him in his apartment and even helped him build a small nest egg. Now graduated and working full-time, he’s a first-time homebuyer.Bautista is one of millions of renters who benefited from temporary programs put in place during the coronavirus pandemic, including restrictions on evictions, income support — and the rental assistance program. One of the most ambitious investments in emergency housing in the nation’s history, it has disbursed $46 billion in aid to state and local governments since early 2021 and kept millions of people in their homes, according to an analysis of government data by Bloomberg News.(1...