- The tip of Michigan’s mitten struggled through another day without electricity Tuesday as restless residents tried to stay warm while utilities scrambled to restore power in a region waylaid by weekend freezing rain that brought down countless trees and poles. Schools in several counties were closed again at the top of the Lower Peninsula. Sheriff’s […]
- BOSTON (AP) — A box truck crashed into a building Tuesday afternoon in Boston’s Chinatown neighborhood and then hit several pedestrians, injuring at least six, the city’s police and emergency services said. Boston EMS, in a social media post, said four people were taken to the hospital, including two in critical condition, and two others […]
- WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Mike Johnson exercised his power of the gavel Tuesday in an unusually aggressive effort to squash a proposal for new parents in Congress to able to vote by proxy, rather than in person, as they care for newborns. His plan failed, 206-222. In an unprecedented move, the House Republican leadership […]
- Forecasters are warning of potentially deadly flash flooding and strong tornadoes as more rounds of thunderstorms are poised to strike parts of the Midwest and South. The potent storm system will bring the threat of “significant, life-threatening flash flooding” starting Wednesday, according to the Weather Prediction Center, a part of the National Weather Service. The […]
- WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Democratic Senator Maria Cantwell on Tuesday urged the Federal Aviation Administration to address critical concerns before deciding whether to extend a program that allows Boeing to perform FAA-delegated tasks like inspections and approving repairs. The FAA in May 2022 opted to renew Boeing’s Organization Designation Authorization program for three years, rather than […]
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- Northern Michigan — no stranger to wild weather — tries to cope with days of no poweron April 1, 2025 at 7:18 pm
The tip of Michigan’s mitten struggled through another day without electricity Tuesday as restless residents tried to stay warm while utilities scrambled to restore power in a region waylaid by weekend freezing rain that brought down countless trees and poles. Schools in several counties were closed again at the top of the Lower Peninsula. Sheriff’s deputies armed with chain saws cleared roads and were even delivering oxygen for the homebound. Drivers idled their vehicles in gas station lines that were blocks long. Northern Michigan lives with crazy weather — Gaylord got 199 inches (5 meters) of snow this winter — but this wave is much different. “It’s an ice situation. The trees and power lines are loaded, literally,” Charlevoix County Sheriff Chuck Vondra said. “Everything is caving in.” More than 180,000 power outages were reported Tuesday afternoon in Michigan, according to poweroutage.us, down from 300,000-plus earlier in the week. But entire communities in several counties have lacked electricity since Saturday. The Cheboygan County sheriff said residents should consider leaving town if they have another place to stay. Officials in Petoskey turned City Hall into a 24/7 haven for people to warm up and charge phones. Presque Isle Electric & Gas Co-op, one of many utilities in the region, said recovery could take days. “The challenge is the debris, impassable roads, and hundreds of downed poles. Each pole takes hours to replace,” the utility said. Petra Tank, 32, of Petoskey said she finally decided to drive 25 miles (40.2 kilometers) to a friend’s home for warmth and a shower Monday. “I realized, ‘Oh, this is a big deal. We’re not going to be back at work this week,’ ” said Tank, who has a tailor shop. “We’ve been sitting ducks for three days without power, and the morale is officially starting to lower because our homes are only getting colder. … It’s just kind of free-for-all,” she told The Associated Press. The Alpena News in Alpena couldn’t publish a newspaper Monday or Tuesday but planned to finally have a print edition Wednesday. Managing Editor Torianna Marasco said she posted stories online by traveling outside the area for internet access. The Mackinac Bridge, a 5-mile (8-kilometer) span connecting Michigan’s two peninsulas, has been closed at times because of thick ice falling from towers and cables. A relief agency, Convoy of Hope, was loading trucks with food and water for a trip to northern Michigan, said Mike Way, pastor of Center Point Assembly church in Charlevoix. “Everybody right now is on pins and needles. It’s my understanding that more snow and ice are coming,” Way said. ”We’re not out of the woods yet.” The staff at Tom’s Family Market in Onaway used flashlights to help desperate customers find food in a pinch. “Don’t tell the governor,” owner Bryan Madison told The Detroit News, “but we ain’t collecting tax.” ___ Associated Press writer Tammy Webber contributed to this report. Brought to you by www.srnnews.com
- At least 6 people are injured after a truck crashed into a building and pedestrians in Bostonon April 1, 2025 at 7:18 pm
BOSTON (AP) — A box truck crashed into a building Tuesday afternoon in Boston’s Chinatown neighborhood and then hit several pedestrians, injuring at least six, the city’s police and emergency services said. Boston EMS, in a social media post, said four people were taken to the hospital, including two in critical condition, and two others were treated at the scene. Tufts Medical Center spokesman Jeremy Lechan said that it had received three patients from the crash, one in critical condition, one in fair condition and another in good condition. The Boston Fire Department, on social media, said the Penske truck struck multiple poles and was wedged between a pole and the building. Firefighters extracted the trapped driver from the cab of truck. In a statement, Penske spokesman Randolph Ryerson said it was “aware of the incident” and was monitoring it closely. “Penske will be cooperating fully with authorities to support their investigation,” Ryerson said. “Our thoughts are with those who have been injured in this unfortunate incident. Based on our records, the truck involved was out on rent to a commercial trucking company. We have no other information at this time.” Police did not provide the driver’s name or the circumstances that led to the accident. Images from the scene showed the truck on its side surrounded by police officers and firefighters. “This is a very active scene and does not have a total number of victims yet,” police said in a statement. Brought to you by www.srnnews.com
- House Speaker Johnson fails to squash a proxy voting effort from new moms in Congresson April 1, 2025 at 6:18 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Mike Johnson exercised his power of the gavel Tuesday in an unusually aggressive effort to squash a proposal for new parents in Congress to able to vote by proxy, rather than in person, as they care for newborns. His plan failed, 206-222. In an unprecedented move, the House Republican leadership had engineered a way to quietly kill the bipartisan plan from two new mothers — Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida and Democratic Rep. Brittany Pettersen of Colorado. Their plan has support from a majority of House colleagues. Some 218 lawmakers backed their effort, signing on to a so-called discharge petition to force their proposal on the House floor for consideration. But Johnson, like GOP leaders before him, rails against proxy voting, as President Donald Trump pushes people back to work in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic work-from-home trend. A procedural vote Tuesday tested who had the tally on their side — the speaker or the plan’s sponsors. Nine Republicans joined all Democrats to sink the GOP leaders’ effort. “If we don’t do the right thing now, it’ll never be done,” said Luna, who gave birth to her son in 2023. Pettersen, with a diaper over her shoulder and 4-month-old son Sam in her arms, stood on the House floor and pleaded with colleagues to turn back the GOP leadership’s effort to stop their resolution. “It is unfathomable that in 2025 we have not modernized Congress,” she said. “We’re asking you to continue to stand with us.” Johnson had drawn the line against proxy voting as unconstitutional. “Look, I’m a father, I’m pro-family,” the Republican speaker said late last month. But “I believe it violates more than two centuries of tradition and institution. And I think that it opens a Pandora’s box, where ultimately, maybe no one is here.” It’s the first time in modern House history that the leadership was taking the extraordinary step to try to halt a discharge petition when it’s this far along. Next steps are uncertain. Luna used the discharge petition process as she and others grew frustrated that House committees and party leaders were not bringing the proxy-voting proposal forward. Instead, she and others gathered the majority signatures needed, 218, to discharge it from limbo, and force it to the floor for action. At a rules committee hearing early Tuesday, the GOP-led panel tucked a provision into the routine rules process that would have prohibited not just this discharge petition but any others that try to push proxy voting forward. Rep. Jim McGovern of Massachusetts, the top Democrat on the panel, said a discharge petition has never been halted before at this stage — a remarkable move from Republicans who often campaign as the party aligned with family values. “Given the chance to actually support families, they turn their backs,” he said. “A majority of the chamber is upending what the majority in this chamber wants.” Republicans countered that Luna, who led the discharge effort, did not go through the regular process of waiting for their resolution to be brought to the floor through normal procedure. And they criticized the temporary proxy voting policy that Democrats put in place during the pandemic that they said was abused by member absences. “You have to come to work, you have to be present,” said Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C. during a committee debate. Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., the chair of the Rules Committee, decried what she called the “laptop class” in America that doesn’t have the luxury of working by proxy. “Members of Congress simply need to show up for work,” she said. About a dozen women have given birth while in Congress over the years, and there are many new fathers as well. One, Rep. Wesley Hunt, R-Texas, had dashed back to Washington for votes in 2023 after his wife had just given birth and their son was in an intensive care unit. Many new and existing parents were among the eight other Republicans who joined Luna to push ahead past the leadership. Luna’s petition opens the door for the House to vote on a resolution that would allow new parents serving in Congress to designate a proxy — another member of Congress — to vote on their behalf for 12 weeks. Republicans had barred proxy voting once they took control of the House from Democrats in 2023. The new resolution, which includes specific procedures on how the new parent would deliver voting instructions, would mean a change in their House rules. The resolution from the mothers allows proxy voting for lawmakers who have given birth or pregnant lawmakers who are unable to travel safely or have a serious medical condition. It also applies to lawmakers whose spouses are pregnant or giving birth. Under the resolution, qualifying lawmakers may designate a proxy to cast a vote for them for up to 12 weeks. Luna, who is among the House’s more conservative lawmakers, made headlines for her steadfast support of Trump. But she resigned this week from the archconservative House Freedom Caucus, saying she could no longer be part of the group if members “broker backroom deals” against its values. ___ Associated Press writer Matt Brown contributed to this report. Brought to you by www.srnnews.com
- Storms could unleash deadly floods, strong tornadoes in large part of US in coming dayson April 1, 2025 at 6:18 pm
Forecasters are warning of potentially deadly flash flooding and strong tornadoes as more rounds of thunderstorms are poised to strike parts of the Midwest and South. The potent storm system will bring the threat of “significant, life-threatening flash flooding” starting Wednesday, according to the Weather Prediction Center, a part of the National Weather Service. The new flood threat also comes as residents in parts of Michigan continue to dig out from a weekend ice storm. Thunderstorms with multiple rounds of heavy rain are expected in parts of Texas, the lower Mississippi Valley and the Ohio Valley beginning at midweek and lasting through Saturday. Forecasters warn the storms could track over the same areas repeatedly and produce heavy rains and dangerous flash floods capable of sweeping cars away. Parts of Arkansas, west Tennessee, western Kentucky and southern Indiana are at an especially high risk for flooding this week, the weather service said. Rain totaling up to 15 inches (38 centimeters) is forecast over the next seven days in northeastern Arkansas, the southeast corner of Missouri, western Kentucky and southern parts of Illinois and Indiana, the weather service warned. “We’re potentially looking at about two months of rain in just a handful of days,” said Thomas Jones, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Little Rock, Arkansas. Little Rock’s monthly average rainfall for March is just under 5 inches (12.7 centimeters). The rainfall that eastern and northeastern Arkansas could see is something only expected once every 25 to 50 years. The copious amount of rain in the forecast is rare, Jones said, and moisture from the Gulf is boosting the amount of precipitation the thunderstorms could release. Storms could spin up tornadoes in Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri on Tuesday, forecasters said. The National Weather Service’s Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma, said intense thunderstorms, including a few supercells, are possible Tuesday evening and overnight from central and southern Oklahoma up into central Kansas and western Missouri. The primary risks are for very large hail — 2 inches (5 centimeters) in diameter or greater — as well as a few tornadoes, some of which could be strong, and severe wind gusts. The area at greatest risk for a strong tornado includes Oklahoma City, and the Kansas cities of Wichita and Topeka. The risk of large hail extends from Fort Worth, Texas, to Kansas City. On Wednesday, a large swath of the nation from northeast Texas to Michigan will see the potential for high winds and tornadoes. The area at highest risk for severe weather includes 43 million people and many of the nation’s largest cities. including Chicago, Indianapolis, St. Louis and Memphis, Tennessee. Dallas, Detroit, Milwaukee, and Nashville, Tennessee, will also be at risk for severe storms on Wednesday. In Michigan, crews were trying to restore power Tuesday after a weekend ice storm toppled trees and power poles. Nearly 200,000 customers were without power in Michigan, plus another 25,000 in Wisconsin, according to PowerOutage.us, which tracks outages nationwide. In the mitten-shaped Lower Peninsula of Michigan, schools in several counties were closed for a second day on Tuesday. Sheriff’s deputies used chain saws to clear roads. Drivers waited at gas stations in lines that stretched for blocks. More wintry precipitation is in store for the region: A mix of sleet and freezing rain could keep roads treacherous Tuesday night into Wednesday across parts of Michigan and Wisconsin, the weather service said. Heavy, wet snow was forecast for Tuesday night into Wednesday across the eastern Dakotas and parts of Minnesota. —- Associated Press Writers Isabella O’Malley in Philadelphia; Ed White in Detroit; and Steve Karnowski in Minneapolis contributed. Brought to you by www.srnnews.com
- FAA must address concerns before extending Boeing regulatory program, senator sayson April 1, 2025 at 5:55 pm
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Democratic Senator Maria Cantwell on Tuesday urged the Federal Aviation Administration to address critical concerns before deciding whether to extend a program that allows Boeing to perform FAA-delegated tasks like inspections and approving repairs. The FAA in May 2022 opted to renew Boeing’s Organization Designation Authorization program for three years, rather than the standard five years, to ensure the planemaker implemented “required improvements.” Boeing’s quality and safety efforts have faced harsh criticism since a January 2024 mid-air emergency involving a new Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9 missing four key bolts. (Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Chris Reese) Brought to you by www.srnnews.com
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