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2nd swimmer in a month abandons attempt to cross Lake Michigan, blames support boat problems

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:05:35 GMT

DETROIT (AP) — The second swimmer in a month has abandoned an attempt to cross Lake Michigan after spending hours in the water.Bryan Huffman, 49, of Holland, Michigan, began the roughly 50-mile (80-kilometer) swim Saturday morning in Wisconsin, the Detroit Free Press reported.Huffman successfully swam across the English Channel in 2022 but he didn’t have much luck in the lake. He told the newspaper he gave up after his support boat lost its steering, and he grew cold after battling a lake current. He said he managed to swim only about 12 miles (19 kilometers) in 13 hours.Jim Dreyer of Grand Haven, Michigan, abandoned his attempt to cross the lake on Aug. 1 after swimming just 10 miles (16 kilometers). He said poor weather conditions forced him to quit.The Associated Press

Crews clear roads after mudslide in the Italian Alps coats city streets in muck

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:05:35 GMT

ROME (AP) — Civil protection crews cleared mud-covered roads in an Italian Alpine city Monday after a mountain mudslide sent water, soil and debris pouring into town, bursting riverbanks. After searching homes and cars overnight, authorities said all residents were accounted for.Streets and cars in Bardonecchia, a city near Turin in the Val di Susa mountain valley, were coated in thick, gray sludge following the violent mudslides late Sunday. Witness video showed a huge wave of dirt, water and debris toppling a gate and residents running away as the muck rushed down a city street; other videos showed thick mud coursing through the river banks that pass through town.Piedmont regional governor Alberto Cirio said there were no victims and that five people initially believed to be missing had been accounted for. In a Facebook post, Cirio said damage was significant; Deputy Premier Antonio Tajani promised support from the federal government.Civil protection crews began removing the debri...

Broadway-bound revival of ‘The Wiz’ finds its next Dorothy, thanks in part to TikTok

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:05:35 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — A 24-year-old triple threat who toured in “Hairspray,” competed on “American Idol” and came to the attention of casting agents with her TikTok videos has landed the plum role of Dorothy in the Broadway-bound production of “The Wiz.”Nichelle Lewis will star in the national touring show this fall and then make her Broadway debut next year as the show’s heel-clicking heroine, following in the footsteps of such icons as Stephanie Mills and Diana Ross.“It’s been a pretty crazy journey,” she told The Associated Press before her official unveiling Monday. “I’m honored to be making my debut as Dorothy. I know I’m following in some really big footsteps.”“The Wiz” tours the U.S. starting this fall in Baltimore and will land on Broadway in 2024. Lewis joins a cast that includes Wayne Brady and Alan Mingo Jr. sharing the role of the Wiz, Deborah Cox as Glinda, Kyle Ramar Freeman as the Lion, Phillip Johnson Richardson as the Tin Man, and Avery Wilson as the Sca...

Latvia leader to step down this week after coalition partners oppose government reshuffle

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:05:35 GMT

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Latvia’s center-right prime minister, Krisjanis Karins, said Monday he will step down later this week after the two other members of his three-party governing coalition refused a reshuffle.Karins said on X, formerly known as Twitter, that the two other parties — the conservative National Alliance and the centrist electoral alliance United List — were “blocking work for welfare and economic growth.”Karins, 56, had planned to stay on as prime minister after announcing a new round of coalition talks, but the two partners said it was against the Latvian Constitution to do so, the Baltic News Service said.Following last October’s general election, the three parties signed a deal in December to form a coalition government. Together they have 54 seats in Latvia’s 100-seat parliament, the Saeima. On Friday, Karins announced his intention to end the current grouping and form a new government coalition after the two parties rejected his proposals for a ministe...

WATCH: Pilot, crew member safely eject before jet crashes at Michigan air show

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:05:35 GMT

BELLEVILLE, Mich. (AP) — A pilot and crew member escaped serious injury when they ejected from a vintage jet that crashed during a Michigan air show Sunday, officials said.The MiG-23 demonstration plane crashed during the Thunder Over Michigan Air Show shortly after 4 p.m., the Wayne County Airport Authority said in a statement.The Soviet fighter plane crashed into a parking lot and struck unoccupied vehicles at a nearby apartment complex in Belleville, about 30 miles west of Detroit. How a Georgia Trump indictment would differ from the federal Jan. 6 case No injuries were reported on the ground at the apartments or the air show hosted by the Yankee Air Museum in Belleville.The pilot and “backseater” crew member did not appear to have significant injuries but were transported to an area hospital, the authority said.The Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement that the agency will investigate with the National Transportation Safety Board.

Dwyane Wade's emotional moment at Basketball Hall of Fame enshrinement

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:05:35 GMT

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — In a Basketball Hall of Fame induction ceremony that included a few connections to the Chicagoland area, a native of the city provided one of its most memorable moments.Dwyane Wade, who was born in Chicago, grew up in Robbins, and played at Richards High School in Oak Lawn, was one of 12 members of the Class of 2023 enshrined on Saturday at the Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts. East Chicago native and Merrillville High School graduate Gregg Popovich along with former Bulls' forward Pau Gasol also took their place in the Hall of Fame this weekend.Wade, who was a 13-time All-Star and three-time NBA champion during his 16 seasons that included one with the Bulls, saluted a number of people in his life during his speech that went for about 26 minutes. That included his mother, Jolinda, and then eventually his father, Dwyane Wade Sr.It was he that Wade saved special words to end his speech in front of fellow Hall of Famers and peers."I owe you a debt of gra...

Bears final open training camp practice of 2023 has a change

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:05:35 GMT

LAKE FOREST — Monday was supposed to be the final day of training camp to feature fans at Halas Hall, but mother nature is causing the Bears to make an adjustment. The Bears training camp practice at Halas Hall today will not be open due to weather, with the team moving the workout inside the Walter Payton Center. @WGNNews pic.twitter.com/n5wcbElmYL— Larry Hawley (@HawleySports) August 14, 2023With showers and storms in the forecast for the Lake Forest area, the Bears have decided to cancel their open training camp practice. Instead, the team will workout indoors at the Walter Payton Center, which will not be open to spectators. This comes after the Bears played their first preseason game of this campaign, defeating the Titans 23-17 on Saturday afternoon at Soldier Field.This was scheduled to be the final practice of the preseason which fans would be allowed to watch the team prepare for the 2023 season. It wasn't a traditional ticketed event but rather the Bears' Military Ap...

1 missing, multiple people injured after boat crash on Lake Austin

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:05:35 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin-Travis County EMS responded to Lake Austin Sunday evening after a boat ran aground. Officials said seven people total were involved in the incident, including a teenager who is missing and was unable to be found.Two patients were transported to the hospital with serious injuries, an additional two were transported with potentially serious injuries and there were two transport refusals at the scene. Officials added in a follow-up social media post the situation had been switched to a recovery effort for the missing person. Ken Campbell, assistant chief of the CE-Bar Fire Department, said the single-boat crash happened after a boat went over the wake of another boat and lost control. Then, the boat hit the bank of Lake Austin where at least one patient was ejected. He could not confirm if the passengers were wearing life jackets. Campbell said Lake Austin is narrow and gets crowded fast with cross currents and cross wakes. "If you're just plowing down the lake a...

Manor ISD Superintendent talks priorities at start of his 1st full school year

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:05:35 GMT

The above video is from Blake DeVine's coverage of Manor ISD's international employees. KXAN at 4 p.m. will have more on Tom Miller's interview with Superintendent Dr. Robert Sormani. MANOR, Texas (KXAN) -- Manor ISD kicks off the school year with a superintendent in his first full academic year on the job, and 89 teachers working on visas to help the district meet its staffing needs. The district starts the year having scored a "C" during its 2022 state assessment. While school progress stood out as an area of achievement, the score for STAAR Performance struggled. NEXT: Set for School Superintendent Dr. Robert Sormani said the district is "ground zero" in the battle with charter schools over students as Manor ISD finished last school year with 9,255 students enrolled, which is less than had been projected.Sormani talked with KXAN about a variety of back-to-school issues ranging from staffing to safety to academic achievement ahead of the next school year.Q&A with Manor ISD s...

UT professors embracing, preparing for AI use in classrooms

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:05:35 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) – Since the launch of OpenAI’s ChatGPT in November 2022, artificial intelligence, or AI, usage has skyrocketed. As a new academic year rapidly approaches for The University of Texas at Austin, faculty are working to balance fostering a learning environment with AI while preventing cheating among college students.“I don’t think we can just say ‘don’t use it’ and assume students won’t use it,” said Ken Fleishmann, the founding chair of Good Systems. Good Systems is a campus-wide research effort at UT that aims to design and promote AI technologies that benefit society rather than harm it."We need to think about how we can incorporate AI into our teaching," Fleishmann said.The movement towards promoting AI learning has been a huge topic of discussion at UT, as the institution announced this past January its online masters AI Program set to begin in spring 2024. READ MORE: UT launching master's program in artificial intelligence Fleishmann, who will teach a class called ...