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Pittsfield residents sue GE and Monsanto, alleging PCB-related cancer

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:12 GMT

PITTSFIELD, Mass. (NEWS10) -- Several lawsuits have been filed by Berkshire County residents alleging their cancer was caused by toxic chemicals. They claim GE, a longtime source of concern surrounding contaminants in the Housatonic River, shares much of the blame. Get the latest news, weather, sports and entertainment delivered right to your inbox! The plaintiffs are also suing Monsanto, a PCB manufacturer, and other related parties.Crystal Czerno’s 9-year-old son, Carter LaCasse, was diagnosed in December of 2021 with a rare form of leukemia."[He's] still fighting," Czerno said, "very much so."Czerno said her son attended Allendale Elementary, which is next to a former GE hazardous waste area called "Hill 78." According to the lawsuit, GE used PCBs between the 1930s and 1970s. Soil from Hill 78, containing PCBs, was used as playground landfill at the school. The Environmental Protection Agency ordered PCBs to be cleaned up in Pittsfield 2000.  GE complied, but these new law...

Man accused of arson at St. Louis County home, caught with torch and propane

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:12 GMT

ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. - A man is accused of using a torch and propane tank to set a woman's north St. Louis County home on fire earlier this month.Prosecutors have charged Ryan Howerton, 41, with one count of first-degree arson in the investigation. Howerton allegedly set a woman's home on fire on Aug. 10 in the 8500 block of Katherine Avenue. Standoff: St. Louis Justice Center guard held hostage According to court documents obtained by FOX 2, the victim was home in the afternoon hours when she heard a strange crackling and popping noise. She noticed smoke through the windows on one side of her home. She looked out and noticed someone was setting her house on fire. The victim rushed out of the home with some belongings, called police on the situation, and drove a short distance away from her home in a car. As police arrived to the scene, they noticed a man, later identified as Howerton, walking from the side of a neighboring house. The victim and other witnesses identified Howert...

Amtrak adding new stop in De Soto, Missouri

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:12 GMT

DE SOTO, Mo. - Amtrak plans to add one more stop to its Texas Eagle train route right after its St. Louis station. The city of De Soto, Missouri, in Jefferson County has been approved for a new passenger rail stop on Amtrak’s Texas Eagle line. The De Soto City Council recently approved a funding plan for a new Amtrak stop. Standoff: St. Louis Justice Center guard held hostage De Soto Mayor Kathy Smith expects the stop will give more than 100,000 people around Jefferson County better access to board an Amtrak train. “After many years of work, we’re thrilled that this has become a reality," said Smith. City Manager Todd Melkus said resuming train passenger in De Soto for the first time in decades will be an economic boost for the area.“We’ve been without service for more than 50 years, and now we’re back,” Melkus said.“We’re a railroad town, with Union Pacific’s shops located here. The timing is perfect. Our MainStreet has been renovated and is growing rapidly. We have people in a ...

Will Denver have a 100-degree day this year?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:12 GMT

Denver hasn’t had a 100-degree day this year yet, and odds are this might be the first time in eight years the city doesn’t have one.With the unusually rainy start to summer this year, Denver’s temperatures stayed cool longer, so the city’s average temperatures in June and July, when the most 100-degree days happen, were only 75 degrees and 89 degrees, respectively.So far in August, the average temperature has been 88 degrees. By this time last year, Denver already had five days of 100-degree temperatures.“We’ve had at least a few 100-degree days over the last few years,” said Zach Hiris with the National Weather Service in Boulder. “2020 had quite a few, but we haven’t hit it yet this year, and to be quite honest, it’s difficult to say if we will.”More hot weather is on the way in the coming few weeks, but how likely is it that Denver could see a 100-degree day now?“(Monday) was probably our best chance of gett...

Broncos get S Justin Simmons, RT Mike McGlinchey and several starters back to practice Tuesday

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:12 GMT

Justin Simmons waved at a teammate down the stretch line.A return to practice, even for a light day of work, was well worth a salutation.Welcome back, indeed.The Broncos standout safety on Tuesday practiced for the first time since straining his groin early in camp and he was hardly the only one back in action.Along with Simmons, right tackle Mike McGlinchey, tight end Chris Manhertz, wide receiver Brandon Johnson and running back Tyler Badie each also got back into action after missing time in recent days and weeks.McGlinchey took all the top-line repetitions in walk-through and team periods, while the others saw varying amounts of work.“We were excited to see him out there and pick up where we left off last time he was out there,” right guard Quinn Meinerz said.Each player’s activity level the next two days in joint practices against the Los Angeles Rams will be determined in part by how they got through the light practice Tuesday and also what their ramp-up schedules call for.“I’...

Woman abducted after Whittier shooting found dead; man arrested

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:12 GMT

A 19-year-old woman who was believed to have been abducted after a shooting in Whittier has been found dead, and a man has been arrested in connection the killing.Andrea Vazquez’s body was discovered in an open field in Moreno Valley Monday night, Whittier police said. Police responded to the parking stalls of Penn Park shortly after midnight on Sunday after a man reported that an armed suspect approached his vehicle — occupied by him and a female passenger — and fired gunshots in their direction, Whittier police said.Family members said that Vazquez was with her boyfriend in a parked car at the curb when another vehicle pulled up and fired a shot, striking Andrea. They believe that the boyfriend then ran to another couple in the park for help. 19-year-old woman abducted after Whittier shooting When he returned, he saw that Vazquez was missing and there was blood on the floor, police said.Investigators believe the shooting was random. Vazquez's sister said that she traced her phon...

Billy McFarland announces Fyre Festival II, reveals presale tickets are sold out

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:12 GMT

Get ready for Fyre Festival II.Yes, the ill-fated music festival from 2017 is coming back to the Caribbean. The announcement was made on Sunday by Billy McFarland, the festival's promoter. "It all started during my seventh-month stint in solitary confinement," he explained in a video posted to social media. "I wrote out this 50-page plan of how I would take this overall interest in demand in Fyre and how it would take my ability to bring people from around the world together to make the impossible happen."In this March 6, 2018 file photo, Billy McFarland, the promoter of the failed Fyre Festival in the Bahamas, leaves federal court after pleading guilty to wire fraud charges in New York. More than three years after the highly publicized Fyre Festival famously fizzled out in the Bahamas. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)McFarland said he spoke to "people as far away as the Middle East and South America" to host the festival but "ultimately decided" to return to the Caribbean.The target ...

2 pickpockets targeted elderly shoppers in Burbank, police say

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:12 GMT

Police are looking for a man and a woman who they say targeted elderly retail shoppers in Burbank to pickpocket.The suspects are wanted in connection with three separate incidents dating back to February and March.They allegedly steal victims’ wallets in distraction-style thefts and later use any stolen credit cards to buy things at various businesses in North Hollywood, according to Burbank police.The incidents occurred on:Feb. 2 at an Aldi grocery store at 687 N. Victory Blvd.Feb. 17 at a Costco at 1061 W. Burbank Blvd.March 4 at a CVS Pharmacy at 2500 W. Victory Blvd.Police on Tuesday provided surveillance images of the suspects.The man is described as being in his 30s and has black hair. He has been seen wearing a camouflage hat, glasses, a black neck gaiter, a black shirt with a rainbow decal, camouflage pants, Croc-style shoes and a black sleeve on his arm. Witnesses described the man as having “painted-on eyebrows.” police said.The woman is described as being in her 30s and h...

Bicyclist Pronounced Dead Following Hit-and-Run on Tenaya Parkway [Las Vegas, NV]

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:12 GMT

Hit-and-Run Collision on Centennial Parkway Left One Bicyclist DeadLAS VEGAS, NV (August 22, 2023) – Early Thursday morning, a hit-and-run crash on Tenaya Parkway killed a 64-year-old cyclist.The incident happened on August 14th, at around 6:05 a.m., in Tenaya and Centennial Parkway.According to investigators, the rider was traveling northbound on Tenaya in the official bike lane north of Centennial Parkway.The collision occurred when the front of the Hyundai connected with the bicyclist’s rear. The bicyclist was thrown forward onto the road.The driver of the Hyundai fled the incident rather than remain at the scene.Medical personnel arrived and transported the bicyclist to a nearby hospital for further treatment.However, they were unsuccessful, and officials pronounced the bicyclist dead, due to the extent of his injuries.Meanwhile, officers looked for the suspect driver who hit the victim and fled the scene. The driver was located a few blocks away and was detained.At this t...

‘Fremont’ the movie is impressing critics. Where is it playing this weekend?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:12 GMT

The independent feature film “Fremont” is impressing some of the nation’s top critics as the movie nears its release date this weekend, with showings scheduled throughout the Bay Area.With scenes shot in the East Bay city that shares its name, the fictional film follows Donya (Anaita Wali Zada), a former interpreter for the U.S. government in Afghanistan, as she struggles “to connect with the culture and people of her new, unfamiliar surroundings while processing complicated feelings about her past,” according to the film’s distributor, Music Box Films.“It’s essentially a film partly about the immigrant experience, but also just generally, that at the end of the day, everyone is looking for love, everyone is looking to be happy, everyone is looking for a decent cup of coffee,” said Rachael Fung, a producer with Fremont the Movie, in an interview with this newspaper last year.The film — directed by Babak Jalali — held a 96% Rotten Tomat...