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On the morning of May 18, 1980, an earthquake shook Mt. St. Helens and the mountain's north face collapsed in one of the largest debris avalanches ever recorded. The slide uncorked the volcano, baring magma that exploded with 500 times the force of the Hiroshima bomb in the most destructive eruption in U.S. history. The cataclysmic chain of events killed 57 people and thousands of animals, took out 250 homes, 47 bridges and 185 miles of highway, clogged rivers with sediment, flooded valleys and blocked the Columbia River shipping channel. Forty years later, the destruction may not be over. The...

Cynthia Covert was waist deep in a pond behind her friend’s home on Kiawah Island clutching a rope as her friends tried to get her away from the alligator that dragged her into the water. As her friends pulled, she calmly said, “I guess I won’t do this again,” according to a supplemental report released Tuesday by the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office. Moments later, the alligator rolled. Covert, 58, went under. The supplemental report provides further details on South Carolina’s third deadly alligator attack in four years. Covert, a Johns Island resident, was on Kiawah doing her friend’s nails, the...

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Saturday called for Veritas, one of San Francisco’s biggest landlords, to return a $3.6 million Paycheck Protection Program loan that was intended to help small businesses cover expenses and retain workers during the coronavirus pandemic. “PPP loans should be directed first and foremost to the small businesses with the greatest need, particularly minority, women and veteran-owned businesses that are struggling,” Pelosi said in a statement. “Larger companies like Veritas, one of San Francisco’s largest corporate real estate management firms, which has billions in assets and access to liquidity through other sources, were not the intended...

Annie's Campground, near Gresham, Wisconsin, posted the new rule on the establishment's Facebook page: "Masks are NOT allowed in the buildings for safety sake. They are viewed as a robbery in progress and will be handled that way." The post goes on to list planned events and food items available to patrons for the May 15-17 weekend, before thanking patrons in its conclusion. "Thank you for your continued support as we all get through this thing called life! We have many new people on staff, please have patience as we are training and learning the next few weeks," the post...

The latest economic stimulus package narrowly passed by the House on Friday was a tiptoeing act for Democratic leadership, not because they tried to craft a $3 trillion piece of bipartisan legislation - neither Republicans nor the White House were consulted - but because they struggled to get members of their own party on board. As a result of the inability to appease the entire caucus, some moderate and liberal Democrats crossed the aisle to join Republicans to vote against the proposal that includes another round of stimulus checks, state and local aid, an expansion of unemployed benefits and rent...

Horse racing continues to take place daily during the coronavirus pandemic, and on Saturday Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., opens for the first time in 2020 with a loaded 11-race card. Only two of the 11 races will have smaller than a full 12-horse field. In Race 11, the Mark Casse-trained Fly So Pretty makes her first start of the year and goes for her third career win in five starts when she leaves the starting gate in an allowance race. She has been installed as the 7-2 favorite in the 5½-furlong turf sprint. The race is the final leg...

FAIRFIELD (CBS13) - Deputies say a man stole a vehicle just 13 minutes after he was released from criminal custody in Napa County Friday. The Napa County Police Department said 35-year-old Trevor Anderson was in custody for vehicle theft, burglary, identity theft, and drug-related charges by the Napa County Sheriff’s Office. He was released Friday under the emergency zero bail order, but police say almost immediately after his release, Anderson stole a truck and led officers on a pursuit from Napa to Fairfield. Sheriff’s deputies deployed spike strips during the chase to flatten the truck’s tire, but Anderson reportedly drove...

A woman suffered burns after falling into a thermal feature at Yellowstone National Park on Tuesday, according to the park officials. Yellowstone has been closed to visitors since March 24 due to the coronavirus pandemic. The woman “illegally entered the park,” the National Park Service (NPS) said in a statement. She told park rangers she was backing up to take pictures when she fell into a thermal feature at the Old Faithful Geyser, one of the most famous geyser’s in the world. “Hot springs have injured or killed more people in Yellowstone than any other natural feature,” reads the park’s...

The Trump administration eased rules Thursday that limit working hours for truck drivers, and the changes brought immediate protests from labor and safety groups. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration extended the maximum working day for short-haul drivers from 12 hours to 14 hours and expanded how far they can drive in a day. The agency said this will let truckers make more deliveries. For long-haul drivers, the regulator will let work other than driving - such as loading or unloading, filling out paperwork, or communicating with an employer or customer - count toward a mandatory 30-minute break after eight...

In a stunt to encourage social distancing, a German restaurant gave its diners hats with pool noodles upon its reopening. Cafe & Konditorei Rothe in Schwerin, Germany reopened last week as the country begins to lift certain coronavirus restrictions. It posted a photo of its diners on Facebook, showing them in straw hats with colorful pool noodles pointing in three different directions to encourage social distancing from all sides. "In these difficult times it's a pleasure to make others smile," restaurant owner Jacqueline Rothe said about the stunt, according to The New York Post.

Some Michigan law enforcement agencies say they won't enforce Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's executive orders meant to combat the coronavirus pandemic. The orders have enraged the Republican-controlled legislature and led to armed protests as some residents grow impatient over statewide restriction measures and business closures. In a letter Monday, Shiawassee County Sheriff Brian BeGole said his agency won't actively enforce the mandates, the Detroit Free Press reported. "I have decided, within my authority, that our office cannot and will not divert our primary resources and efforts towards enforcement of the Gov. Whitmer's executive orders,” he said. BeGole's letter comes after a...

Biologists believe the Argentine black and white tegus could endanger food resources for Georgians and even native animal "Tegus will eat the eggs of ground-nesting birds - including quails and turkeys - and other reptiles," according to the department's website. The invasive species also eats fruit, vegetables, pet food, and small animals including native species like gopher tortoises. They multiply fast - the lizards have few predators and females can lay about 35 eggs in a year, the department said.

Sports fans in Michigan who are expecting a return to normal in the months ahead from a coronavirus shutdown received some disappointing news Tuesday from Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. “Life’s going to be different,” Whitmer said, referring to the state’s eventual emergence from her virus-response order. “We’re not going to be filling stadiums in the fall.” That appeared to be bad news for fans of the NFL’s Detroit Lions, as well as college football teams in the state, such as the Michigan Wolverines and Michigan State Spartans. Whitmer’s remarks came during an interview on Detroit radio station WKQI-FM, according to the...

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (Tuesday, May 12, 2020) - Churchill Downs Racetrack today released a preliminary list of races that could be used for the extension of the “Road to the Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve,” pending agreeable race placement by the host tracks. Additionally, the first race in the extended series, the $150,000 Matt Winn (Grade III) on May 23 at Churchill Downs, will have Top 4 points raised from the previously announced 10-4-2-1 to 50-20-10-5. “Based on measured interest from horsemen and limited racing opportunities for 3-year-olds across the country, the Matt Winn at the home of the Kentucky...

(CNN) Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez will co-chair a task force for Joe Biden's campaign on climate change, a source with direct knowledge of the planning tells CNN, a move that adds progressive credentials to the former vice president's effort to unify the party ahead of the general election. The group is one of several task forces being formed to bridge the divide between the polices of Biden and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who ended his White House bid last month. "I'm working with Bernie and with his people. And so, and we've made some changes. We've listened to Bernie supporters...

The Democrats' new $3 trillion coronavirus relief legislation expands direct payment eligibility to many more people than last time, including undocumented immigrants who pay taxes. Each eligible person would receive $1,200 stimulus checks, up to $6,000 per household, according to the newly released legislation. For example, a married couple filing taxes jointly would receive $2,400. They would get an additional $1,200 for each of their dependents, up to three, for a maximum benefit of $6,000. Under the first round of checks, eligible individuals got a one-time payment of up to $1,200, or $2,400 per couple, plus $500 for each child...

Link only - https://www.denverpost.com/2020/05/12/marijuana-banking-heroes-act-coronavirus/

“Imagine a bicyclist or motorcyclist who sits indefinitely at an intersection waiting for the light to change before being able to move forward,” says Carol H. Tan, Ph.D., former program manager for the Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Research program, Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), and currently project manager for FHWA’s congressionally mandated Motorcycle Crash Causation Study. “Transportation professionals know that the cycle’s wheels have to cross a sensor in the pavement so the traffic signal can detect the vehicle’s presence. However, even if bicyclists and motorcyclists know there is a sensor, the riders may not know exactly where they need to...

SHAWANO, WI – A Shawano Downtown business recently had an unexpected visitor. A deer ended up inside a Main Street business last week. It may sound like the start of a bad joke, but for awhile, it was no laughing matter. Duane Schultz owns Kim’s Discount store on Main Street. He says Thursday was a day that he will never forget. A customer just walked out the door and he said a few minutes later he heard a crash. “A deer came into the door and it stopped at the table and looked at me,” he said. “All I could...

WASHINGTON - A majority of Americans disapprove of protests against restrictions aimed at preventing the spread the coronavirus, according to a new poll that also finds the still-expansive support for such limits - including restaurant closures and stay-at-home orders - has dipped in recent weeks. The new survey from the University of Chicago Divinity School and The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds 55% of Americans disapprove of the protests that have popped up in some states as some Americans begin chafing at public health measures that have decimated the global economy. Thirty-one percent approve of the demonstrations....