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Tornado damages Pfizer plant in North Carolina as other parts of US reel from scorching heat, floods

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:16:17 GMT

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A tornado heavily damaged a major Pfizer pharmaceutical plant in North Carolina on Wednesday, the latest in a string of extreme weather events plaguing the U.S. on a day when floods deluged communities in Kentucky and scorching heat smothered Phoenix and Miami. Pharmaceutical company Pfizer confirmed that the large manufacturing complex was damaged by a twister that touched down near Rocky Mount, but said via email that it had no reports of serious injuries there. It said in a later email, without giving workforce numbers, that the plant employees followed safety procedures and evacuated and all “are safe and accounted for.” Parts of roofs were ripped open atop its massive buildings. The Pfizer plant stores large quantities of medicine that were tossed about by the storm, said Nash County Sheriff Keith Stone, adding, “I’ve got reports of 50,000 pallets of medicine that are strewn across the facility and damaged through the rain and the wind.”The plant produces a...

Netflix’s subscriber growth surges in a sign that crackdown on password sharing is paying off

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:16:17 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Netflix enjoyed its biggest springtime spurt in subscribers since the early days of the pandemic three years ago, providing the latest sign that a recent crackdown on password sharing and the rollout of a cheaper subscription option are paying off.The video streaming service added 5.9 million subscribers during the April-June period, according to numbers released Wednesday along with its latest quarterly financial results. The gains easily surpassed the roughly 2.2 million additional subscribers that analysts surveyed by FactSet Research had anticipated. Netflix ended June with 238.4 million worldwide subscribers.Investors seemed unsatisfied, perhaps rattled by management commentary in a shareholder letter warning that “quite a competitive battle” continues to unfold against the backdrop of ongoing strikes by both the writers and actors union in the U.S. that threaten to clog the pipelines feeding entertainment to streaming services. Netflix’s stock price ...

Kenosha County Sheriff releases dashcam footage of police chase involving escaped inmate from Illinois

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:16:17 GMT

KENOSHA COUNTY, Wisc. — The Kenosha County Sheriff's Department (KSD) released dashcam footage Tuesday of a traffic stop and arrest made on a stolen Chevrolet Camaro tied to a man who escaped police custody near Park Ridge, Illinois last Saturday, and led law enforcement on an interstate chase to catch him.On Saturday around 3:50 p.m., the KSD was notified by the Pleasant Prairie Police Department (PPPD) that they had located a stolen Camaro out of Illinois that earlier had been carjacked by an escaped inmate who fled from Illinois to Wisconsin.Shortly thereafter, KSD, PPPD and the Wisconsin State Patrol began pursuing the Camaro, which ultimately ended with the arrest and capture of Wesley R. Anderson, after OnStar was contacted and they turned off the engine of the vehicle remotely.Deputies said Anderson was still in possession of the original handcuffs that he was placed in by an Illinois agency prior to his escape. PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Prisoner on the way to jail breaks free fro...

Starbucks apologizes after app notification goes out in error

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:16:17 GMT

(NEXSTAR) – Did you receive a baffling Starbucks drink notification Wednesday afternoon – even though you never placed an order?The Seattle-based coffee giant apologized for any confusion the notification might have caused in a message posted to the company's website:You may have received a notification stating "Your order is ready!" from the Starbucks app when you did not place an order. This notification is an error and we apologize for any confusion this may have caused.Starbucks went on to say that no one was charged. A number of people took to Twitter around 11 a.m. PDT to find out if it was just their own app, while others worried their account was compromised. UPS strike would trigger pandemic-era supply chain issues, expert says "Is everyone else's starbucks order ready?" One person tweeted."Who all got the Starbucks notification saying their order was ready? I got excited then worried bc I haven't placed an order," tweeted another.Others were just disappointed that they w...

Crews respond to large outdoor fire near Jarrell

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:16:17 GMT

Editor's Note: The video above shows KXAN Live’s top headlines for July 19, 2023WILLIAMSON COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) -- Officials are responding to a large outdoor fire between Georgetown and Jarrell in Williamson County Wednesday, the Williamson County Director of Communications confirmed to KXAN.The fire is in the area of Cobb Creek Road.Shortly after 6 p.m., the fire's current size is at 12 acres, officials said. No one has been evacuated at this time.The Jarrell Fire Department was leading the fire, according to Williamson County. This developing story will be updated.

Nationals reportedly sign Round Rock's Travis Sykora to $2.6M bonus

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:16:17 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Round Rock graduate Travis Sykora, equipped with a 100 mph fastball, is headed to professional baseball.Sykora signed a letter of intent to pitch for the Texas Longhorns, but the Washington Nationals made him an offer he couldn't refuse. The 6-foot-6 fireballer signed July 17 with the club, and according to MLB.com, his bonus was $2.6 million. It was clear the Nationals made it a priority to get him big money given how they signed other draftees. Lucas Gordon signs with White Sox for $300K, other drafted Longhorns have yet to sign Washington used the first pick of the third round to snag Sykora, the 71st pick overall, and that came with a slot value of $1.02 million. Perhaps that would have been enough to entice Sykora to begin his professional career and not play for the Longhorns, but given how little Washington spent on bonuses for players drafted later than Sykora, there was plenty of money left over to make sure he signed.The Nationals have $14.5 million avail...

City to vote Thursday on $9M contract to use Marshalling Yard as homeless shelter

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:16:17 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Austin City Council is expected to vote on a one-year contract with Family Endeavors to run homeless shelter operations at the Marshalling Yard, near the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. A memo from the city in May showed the city plans to use the location as a temporary shelter for people experiencing homelessness. The contract is worth just north of $9.1 million. According to a city memo, a portion of the 70,000-square-foot building will be used to create up to 300 additional emergency shelter beds. The goal is to use the shelter for roughly a year while more permanent shelter is created, the memo said.The Marshalling Yard was built to be an extension of the Austin Convention Center where trucks could be parked and materials could be stored, according to its website. Austin to use Marshalling Yard as homeless shelter, doubling up at existing shelters Several local groups have vocalized concerns about the plan on social media including the Texas Harm ...

Auto experts share how to prevent car trouble in extreme heat

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:16:17 GMT

WACO, Texas (FOX 44) -- Central Texas is under an excessive heat warning again and many of us are having car problems on the road.AAA Central Texas representatives say the main roadside calls they're getting from customers are for dead batteries and flat tires."We're in what's called blowout season. The summertime is typically a time where we see more tires blow out," said AAA representative Daniel Armbruster.Kish Complete Car Care Center general manager David Derosier says the extreme heat causes tire treads to fall off."Outer tread strips off the tire you see on the interstate from a lot of big trucks., but passenger cars, those tires fail in the same manner," said Derosier.Derosier says your tires can show warning signs before it's too late."You'll see a lot of small cracking in the tread of the tire. That will give you a sign that this tire is going to fail soon," said Derosier.Dead batteries are another problem."When it gets hot outside, the heat has an impact on the batteries....

City of Georgetown to expand outage texting service to water customers

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:16:17 GMT

GEORGETOWN, Texas -- Starting Aug. 1, Georgetown utility customers will receive a text message letting them know they are enrolled in the city's real-time water outage texting service, according to a news release from the city. MORE: Central Texas cities issue water restrictions Once the texting service launches, enrolled customers will receive real-time updates via text message to and from (512) 930-3640, according to the city. However, water outages must still be reported by phone by calling (512) 930-3640 and press 1, the release said. The city said its phone system will recognize the number if it's tied to the utility account.According to the city, customers should still track water and electric outages on the city’s online outage maps and only report outages not already reflected on the maps. Furthermore, the city will text customers about water outages, and customers can send text messages to the system to learn about status updates, the release said.“We are proud to expand ...

Two men sentenced in violent assault of transgender woman at Minneapolis light rail station

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:16:17 GMT

Two men who admitted to beating a transgender woman last year at a Minneapolis light rail stop, leaving her critically injured, avoided prison time under sentences handed down this week.Keaten James Morris, 19, of Minneapolis and Kevin Dewayne York, 23, of St. Paul both pleaded guilty in May to felony third-degree assault in the Feb. 27 attack at the Blue Line’s Lake Street Station.Kevin Dewayne York (Courtesy of the Hennepin County sheriff’s office)Aggravated first-degree robbery charges against the men were dismissed as part of plea agreements they reached with Hennepin County prosecutors.Morris was sentenced to a year in the county workhouse on Monday. Judge Peter Cahill then ordered that Morris be furloughed to chemical health treatment, which was recommended in an in-custody substance-use disorder assessment, court records show.Morris’ sentence includes a stay of imposition, meaning the felony conviction will be reduced to a misdemeanor if he successfully completes three ...