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Ford restarts electric pickup truck factory after retooling to increase output, says orders are up

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:51 GMT

DETROIT (AP) — Ford is resuming production of the F-150 Lightning electric pickup after closing a factory in Dearborn, Michigan, for six weeks to triple production capacity. The move comes just two weeks after the company cut prices on all versions of the trucks, some by as much as $10,000, fueling speculation that demand had fallen. But company officials said Tuesday that they’re getting six times the orders now than before the price cuts, and Ford has an order bank big enough to take up 45 days of production at the reworked Rouge Electric Vehicle Center. The company wouldn’t give an exact number of orders. Lightning sales in the second quarter of the year were more than double the same period in 2022, but there were up only 4% from the first quarter.Ford says that’s because they stopped production at the Rouge Electric Vehicle center in June to add equipment and expand the plant so it can make more vehicles. The plant, which now employs about 2,000 workers,...

Three county parks close for month of August

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:51 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- During the peak of the summer heat, the county is taking precautions and closing three of San Diego’s most strenuous trails for the month of August.“People can get into big trouble because you just can’t quite carry enough water. Your body just uses it so fast,” Ranger Kyle Icke said.The closures include Hellhole Canyon Preserve in Valley Center, El Capitan in Lakeside and Mt. Gower in Ramona.During the summer, park rangers always urge hikers to stay hydrated and hike early morning or in the evening.“We go when the sun’s coming down. We check the weather daily since we live in Ramona, I mean, I check the weather hourly,” Michelle Tondreau West said. How to visit Cabrillo National Monument for free this week While you will see gates shut and closure signs at the three locations noted as the most dangerous in the month of August, the county does not issue fines or violations for entering at your own risk.  However, officials say the safety risks can lead to medical...

Is tonight your lucky night? Mega Millions $1.1 billion jackpot up for grabs again

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:51 GMT

(NEXSTAR) -- A estimated $1.1 billion Mega Millions jackpot will again be up for grabs Tuesday night, giving lottery players a chance to snap an unlucky streak that has stretched on for months.The current jackpot has steadily grown since April after a ticketholder in New York matched all six numbers to win a $20 million prize. (The previous jackpot, awarded days before on April 14, was worth $483 million.) A total of 46 players, meanwhile, have won second-tier prizes worth $1 million or more since the last jackpot was won, the Mega Millions lottery confirmed in a press release. Joining an office lottery pool for the $910M Mega Millions jackpot? What to know Tuesday night's drawing will be the 30th since someone last won the jackpot.The drought is due to a combination of poor luck and terrible odds, as the chance of winning the Mega Millions jackpot is 1 in 302.6 million. The odds of winning smaller prizes, ranging from $1 million to $2, are significantly better.Larg...

Once nearing extinction, Brazil’s golden monkeys have rebounded from yellow fever, scientists say

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:51 GMT

There are now more golden lion tamarins bounding between branches in the Brazilian rainforest than at any time since efforts to save the species started in the 1970s, a new survey reveals.Once on the brink of extinction, with only about 200 animals in the wild, the population has rebounded to around 4,800, according to a study released Tuesday by the Brazilian science and conservation nonprofit Golden Lion Tamarin Association.“We are celebrating, but always keeping one eye on other threats, because life’s not easy,” said the nonprofit’s president, Luís Paulo Ferraz.Golden lion tamarins are small monkeys with long tails and copper-colored fur that live in family groups led by a mated pair. Usually, they give birth annually to twins, which all family members help to raise by bringing them food and carrying them on their backs.The monkeys, which live only in Brazil’s Atlantic Forest, are still considered endangered.The population survey was conducted over roughly a year. Researchers we...

Bond is denied for South Carolina woman accused of killing newlywed bride in drunken crash

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:51 GMT

A judge has denied bond for a woman accused of killing a newlywed bride when she drunkenly slammed her Toyota Camry into a golf cart along a South Carolina beach road.Jamie Lee Komoroski, 25, will remain behind bars awaiting trial after officials say she drove over twice the speed limit into a low-speed vehicle escorting a couple on their wedding day. Her blood alcohol content exceeded three times the legal level, according to a toxicology report. She faces charges of reckless vehicular homicide and three counts of driving under the influence causing death or great bodily injury.“This is certainly a very tragic situation for all concerned,” Circuit Judge Michael Nettles said after delivering his decision.Nettles asked that both parties work to expedite the trial, which is currently scheduled for March 2024. If the case is not heard by then, Komoroski can be released on a $150,000 surety bond. She would be subject to electronic monitoring and placed on house arrest.Komoroski, appeari...

Democratic lawmakers slam the lack of attorney access for asylum-seekers in Border Patrol custody

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:51 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Dozens of Democratic members of Congress asked the Biden administration Tuesday to end expedited screening of asylum-seekers in Border Patrol custody, calling it a “rushed practice” that has allowed little access to legal counsel.As the administration prepared to launch speedy screenings at Border Patrol holding facilities this spring , authorities pledged access to counsel would be a key difference from a Trump-era version of the policy. So far, that promise appears unfulfilled.A coterie of involved attorneys estimated that perhaps 100 migrants secured formal representation in the first three months of the policy, The Associated Press reported last month, and only hundreds more have received informal advice through one-time phone calls ahead of the expedited screenings. That represents a mere fraction of the thousands of expedited screenings since early April, though authorities have not provided a precise count.The letter to the Homeland Security and Justice Depa...

New Jersey Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver, first Black woman to serve as state Assembly speaker, dies at 71

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:51 GMT

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver, who made history as the first Black woman to serve as speaker of the state Assembly, died Tuesday. She was 71.Oliver served as Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy’s top deputy, stepping in for him while the governor was out of state and also overseeing the Department of Community Affairs, which coordinates state aid to towns and cities and supervises code enforcement.No cause of death was given, Murphy’s office said in a statement from the Oliver family. Murphy said he and his family are distraught at the news. Naming Oliver as his lieutenant governor was, he said, “the best decision I ever made.”As acting governor, she signed a handful of bills including a 2021 measure that established a pilot program to overhaul the state’s juvenile justice system in four cities and which aimed to reintegrate young people into their communities.Murphy’s office announced on July 31 that Oliver was hospitalized while filling in for Murphy, who was in I...

Molson Coors boosts outlook as earnings and sales rise in second quarter

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:51 GMT

MONTREAL — Molson Coors Beverage Co. has bumped up its outlook for the year as it saw notable volume and net sales growth in the second quarter.The brewery and beverage company says it now expects to see an increase in its underlying income before taxes of 23 to 26 per cent compared with last year, while it earlier was expecting growth in the low single digits. The increase came as the company, which reports in U.S. dollars, reported a net income in the second quarter of US$342.4 million, or US$1.57 per diluted share, up from US$47.3 million or 22 cents US, a year earlier.Adjusted earnings per share came in at US$1.78 per share, compared with U$1.19 per share last year, while analysts had on average expected adjusted earnings of US$1.63 according to financial markets data firm Refinitiv.Molson Coors says underlying net income for the quarter ending June 30 was US$387.2 million, up from US$260.1 million last year, while net sales for the quarter were US$3.3 billion, up from US$2.9 bi...

Wisconsin officials add recommendations to new management plan to keep wolf population around 1,000

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:51 GMT

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin wildlife officials released a revised draft wolf management plan Tuesday that recommends holding the statewide population at around 1,000 animals, a concession to conservatives looking for a hard limit.The Department of Natural Resources adopted a wolf management plan in 1999 that calls for capping the statewide population at 350 wolves. The population has roughly tripled since then, leading to occasional wolf attacks on pets, hunting dogs and livestock. Hunters and farmers have pointed to the 350-animal limit as justification for generous kill quotas, angering animal rights advocates.The department released a draft of a new wolf management plan in November. The proposal didn’t include a hard population goal, instead recommending that advisory committees monitor local wolf populations and decide whether to reduce them, maintain them or allow them to grow.The draft wasn’t well received by hunters, farmers and GOP legislators. State Rep. Chan...

Organizers of heavy metal festival in Germany ask visitors to leave cars at home due to bad weather

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:51 GMT

The organizers of Wacken Open Air, a hard rock and metal festival in northern Germany, have asked visitors to leave their heavy metal at home. They issued a travel ban Tuesday for ticket-holders with cars and trucks due to the muddy terrain of the festival grounds.The world-famous music festival is held every year in the Schleswig-Holstein state village of Wacken. This year’s installment is scheduled to open Wednesday and run through Saturday. The organizers said that because of heavy rain in recent days and more expected, camping areas, the event grounds and access roads, were in poor condition and no more vehicles could be allowed onto the site.“Due to this extraordinary situation, please refrain from further journeys to Wacken,” a statement posted on the event’s website said. “We apologize to all metalheads for the delayed information. We are in constant, cooperative exchange with all relevant authorities and responsible persons in order to continue to ensure the safety of ...