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Poor air quality after pop-up showers: What you need to know about DC’s July Fourth forecast

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:04 GMT

The sky is darkening as the D.C. region makes way for a slate of fireworks and fanfare. Here’s what you need to know about the Fourth of July forecast.Listen to WTOP online and on the radio at 103.5 FM or 107.7 FM.Current traffic conditionsWeather forecastClosings and DelaysSign up for WTOP alertsRain has left the forecast after an afternoon of spotted showers but the fireworks displays around the region present another chance for dense, smoke-filled air around the region.“Starting this evening, late, and going through the day on Wednesday and Thursday it’s a Code Orange air quality alert.,” 7News chief meteorologist Veronica Johnson said.A Code Orange air quality alert is forecast until Thursday. Air quality is expected to be unhealthy for sensitive groups, such as those with heart and lung disease, according to the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments rating system.“Keep that in mind, you’ll want to exercise as early as possible,”...

Ohtani leaves Angels game with blister after giving up consecutive homers

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:04 GMT

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Shohei Ohtani left the Los Angeles Angels’ game Tuesday against the San Diego Padres with a blister on the middle finger of his pitching hand.The two-way star exited after giving up consecutive home runs to Xander Bogaerts and Jake Cronenworth with none out in the sixth inning.The right-hander’s start had been pushed back a day due to a cracked fingernail. His velocity was down Tuesday, and he left trailing 5-1. Ohtani made the last out at the plate in the top of the sixth and it wasn’t immediately clear if he would remain in the lineup as the Angels’ designated hitter.He left his previous start as a pitcher but remained in the game as the DH and homered, giving him 10 strikeouts and two home runs in a 4-2 win against the Chicago White Sox. Ohtani’s exit came several hours after the Angels learned they’ll be without fellow All-Star slugger Mike Trout for several weeks because of a broken left wrist. Ohtani became a two-way All-Sta...

Un juez bloquea la ley electoral de Florida que habría limitado el registro de votantes

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:04 GMT

(CNN) — Un juez federal bloqueó este lunes una ley electoral en Florida que habría restringido el registro de votantes en el estado.El juez jefe del distrito norte de Florida, Mark E. Walker, dijo que, si bien es correcto que el estado “busque la integridad” en su sistema electoral, “las soluciones de Florida para preservar la integridad de las elecciones se alejan demasiado de los problemas que ha presentado como justificación” y violan la Constitución de Estados Unidos.DeSantis convierte en ley las restricciones al acceso de los floridanos trans a tratamientos de afirmación de género y sanitariosLa legislación, aprobada esta primavera, prohíbe que las personas condenadas por determinados delitos graves y los no ciudadanos, incluidos quienes tienen residencia legal permanente en EE.UU., recojan o manejen solicitudes de inscripción de votantes. Las organizaciones de terceros enfrentarían multas de hasta US$ 50.000 por cada persona no autorizada que part...

Drivers rescued from flooded Denver roads

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:04 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — Roads in Denver were flooded Tuesday night as severe thunderstorms moved across the metro area.Denver Fire performed a swift water rescue in the area of 38th Avenue and Fox Street, according to the department. Crews were able to get people to safety, but they were still on the scene around 8:40 p.m. Live updates: Tracking severe weather in Denver area 38th and Fox is the same place where cars were submerged last week in fast-rising water from a downpour.And similar to last week, Interstate 25 was again flooded on Tuesday at West 23rd Avenue. That's the same place where floodwaters on Thursday snarled rush-hour traffic and pushed mud and debris on the road.Cameras from the Colorado Department of Transportation showed vehicles traveling on the flooded road on Tuesday night. Flooding was also visible on I-25 at westbound Interstate 70.Flooding on Interstate 25 at West 23rd Avenue in Denver (Credit: Colorado Department of Transportation)Warning: Don't drive onto floode...

Russia’s put the genie back in the bottle — or has it?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:04 GMT

Jamie Dettmer is opinion editor at POLITICO Europe.Nothing to see here — now move along, please.A little over a week after the 36-hour insurrection of Yevgeny Prigozhin and his Wagner Group mercenaries, this seems to be the line adopted by the Kremlin, its propagandists and supporters.The politicians and functionaries who remained ominously silent and kept their heads down as the shock rebellion unfolded are now all rallying, flocking to President Vladimir Putin and praising his sagacity, while seeking to trivialize Wagner’s military contribution in the war on Ukraine.“If there had been people like Putin at the helm of the state in 1917 and 1991, there would have been no revolution and no collapse of the USSR,” declared Vyacheslav Volodin, chairman of Russia’s lower house of parliament, the Duma. Putin has emerged even stronger, he opined on Telegram.Meanwhile, Andrey Kartapolov, chair of the Duma’s defense committee, was quoted by the state-run TASS news agency as saying ther...

Paul Ovenden

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:04 GMT

A former Sunday newspaper journalist with an eye for a story, Ovenden runs a team of Labour researchers and mischief-makers who place attack stories in national outlets. As the party’s director of attack and rebuttal, he is responsible for its punchy digital ads, which have generated significant attention and controversy. His role over the next year in taking the fight to the Tories ahead of the election will be critical.Check out the full Power 40 — London class of 2023 list, and read the Letter from the Editors for an explanation of the thinking behind the ranking.

William Hague

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:04 GMT

One of the Conservative Party’s most respected older heads, former Conservative leader Hague has operated as Rishi Sunak’s de facto mentor since the latter’s arrival on the political scene in 2015, helping Sunak secure his old parliamentary seat in North Yorkshire when he retired from the House of Commons. The two men remain extremely close and Hague — now a Tory peer — has been known to roll the pitch for policy ideas in his must-read weekly column in the Times.Check out the full Power 40 — London class of 2023 list, and read the Letter from the Editors for an explanation of the thinking behind the ranking.

Feargal Sharkey

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:04 GMT

The former lead singer of The Undertones has gone from punk frontman to standard bearer for the campaign to prevent water companies pumping sewage into U.K. waters. Leveraging his star power, Sharkey has helped keep the issue on the political agenda, making frequent appearances on television and in newspaper columns to take the water companies and government to task. It also doesn’t hurt that he is willing to pick very public fights with Conservative MPs on Twitter, to the delight of his near 200,000 social media followers.Check out the full Power 40 — London class of 2023 list, and read the Letter from the Editors for an explanation of the thinking behind the ranking.

Miriam Cates

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:04 GMT

Despite only being elected to parliament in 2019, Cates is seen as a rising star on the Conservative right as a result of her willingness to push back against her own party. As one of the leading rebels on the Online Safety Bill, the Penistone and Stocksbridge MP has impressed supporters by strong-arming the government into making several big concessions and has shown she is more than willing to use the press to criticize the direction of her party. Controversially, the former teacher has also criticized the move to extend free childcare at the expense of more traditional family policy.Check out the full Power 40 — London class of 2023 list, and read the Letter from the Editors for an explanation of the thinking behind the ranking.

Deborah Mattinson

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:04 GMT

Labour’s driving electoral mission under Keir Starmer has been to win back the so-called Red Wall seats swept up by Boris Johnson’s Conservatives. A pollster who literally wrote the book on why the opposition party lost those voters in 2019, Mattinson — a veteran of the election-winning New Labour years — was recruited as Starmer’s director of strategy in 2021. In his office, she’s been influential in putting green policies at the front and center of Labour’s vision for Britain.Check out the full Power 40 — London class of 2023 list, and read the Letter from the Editors for an explanation of the thinking behind the ranking.