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Energy Dept. rejects $200M grant to battery maker after GOP criticism over alleged ties to China

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:24 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration has canceled plans to award a $200 million grant to a U.S. battery manufacturer amid criticism from Republican lawmakers over the company’s alleged ties to China.Texas-based Microvast was one of 20 companies to win preliminary grants totaling $2.8 billion to boost domestic manufacturing of batteries for electric vehicles. The company is building a battery plant in Tennessee and was in talks with the Energy Department for a $200 million grant funded through the 2021 infrastructure law.A spokeswoman for Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm confirmed Tuesday that negotiations with Microvast were canceled, but did not offer a specific reason.The Energy Department said in a statement that it “maintains a rigorous review process prior to the release of any awarded funds, and it is not uncommon for entities selected to participate in award negotiations” to ultimately be denied a federal grant.“The department can confirm that it has...

Denver weather: Smoke to improve Wednesday, severe storm chance

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:24 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — Denver's weather will stay smoky Tuesday night with scattered showers and storms in the mountains. The wildfire smoke will improve on Wednesday as rain chances go up. Weather tonight: Smoky An air quality alert has been issued for the Front Range through midnight Tuesday night. Denver will likely stay dry on Tuesday with scattered showers and storms across the mountains. Temperatures will drop to the low 50s overnight in Denver. Weather tomorrow: Severe stormsWednesday will be warm on the Front Range with highs in the mid-70s. The smoke will finally improve across the eastern half of the state. There will be scattered storms after noon that will quickly slide east from the foothills to the plains. Some storms could turn severe on the Eastern Plains, where a marginal risk is in place. The main storm threats will be hail, strong winds, lightning and a brief heavy downpour. Looking ahead: Stormy patternThe stormy weather pattern will stay in place on Thursday with ...

46-year season ticketholder thrilled for Nuggets' championship bid

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:24 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — The Denver Nuggets are making team history by heading to the NBA Finals for the first time ever after defeating the Los Angeles Lakers in a four-game sweep. “It was an exciting game. We've come a long way," said Dr. Lance Forstot, a season ticketholder. What makes Forstot's fandom remarkable is he's had season tickets since 1977. “When I came to Denver I joined some people who had season tickets and bought some of their tickets," Forstot said "The next year I got season tickets and now have had them since the 1977-1978 season." Courtside Nuggets tickets on sale for over $20K Forstot said his seats have gradually gotten better over the years and he enjoys taking his wife, children and grandchildren to the games. “This year was special. Out of the 41 home games, my wife and I went to 37, along with every playoff game," Forstot said.Members of the Denver Nuggets pose with the Western Conference Championship Trophy (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)He said right now he ...

All-new season 6 of Beat Shazam with Nick Cannon, Kelly Osbourne

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:24 GMT

You know what’s annoying? When you music stuck in your head, but you can’t figure out what song it’s from. That’s definitely not the kind of problem you wanna have as a contestant on Fox’s Beat Shazam.The show returns for an all new season tonight, and guest DJ Kelly Osbourne is dropping some beats with Deco.Jamie Foxx: “Welcome to Beat Shazam. This is my house, and in my house, it’s all about the M&M’s: music and money.”It’s a game show you know and love.Jamie Foxx: “Tonight three teams will battle it out to see who’s the fastest at identifying the monster hit songs.”With a major payday, but when Fox’s Beat Shazam returns for season six tonight, and It’s gonna look a little different.Nick Cannon: “It’s my pleasure to introduce our guest DJ, who actually needs no introduction. It’s the incredible Kelly Osbourne.Nick Cannon and Kelly Osbourne are standing in for Jamie Foxx ...

Reading tops Concord-Carlisle, remains hot entering state tournament

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:24 GMT

CONCORD — Entering Tuesday night’s game, Reading boys lacrosse coach Charlie Hardy wanted his group to send a message, one which would validate the impeccable spring the Rockets have enjoyed.Thanks to a complete team effort, they managed to do so by closing one of the greatest regular seasons in program history in impressive fashion. Mark Boyle and Cullen Granara each buried a pair of goals and tacked on an assist apiece, as Reading defeated a very tough Concord-Carlisle squad on the road, 9-3.“I think we moved the ball extremely well,” Hardy said. “We try to teach exactly what you just said – move the ball, get everybody involved. Find our matchups, and go from there. That’s exactly what happened. We found the matchups where we wanted them to be, people beat their matchup, and we scored.”Reading also was the beneficiary of a great performance from senior midfielder Ethan Haggerty (two goals). It didn’t take long for the Rockets (17-1) to establish the tempo, as Robbie Granara...

Mets Notebook: Kodai Senga continues to get extra rest

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:24 GMT

CHICAGO — Kodai Senga is still on a schedule that allows for extra rest. The Mets are pretty content to keep him on one, at least for this early part of his rookie season.Senga will pitch the second game of a three-game set against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on Wednesday. Seven days in between starts isn’t typical for pitchers in the Major Leagues but it’s typical for pitchers in Japan, and the Mets have been trying to mimic the schedule he was on throughout his 11 years in the Nippon Professional League. It doesn’t sound like this is going to change anytime soon.“We don’t know yet. We’ll see how it goes. I don’t know,” manager Buck Showalter said Tuesday at Wrigley Field. “Maybe it doesn’t happen at all. We’ll see how he responds. I hope that there is that possibility and we’re leaving that open, but right now he’s doing well with the way his rest is coming up. We’ll continue down that ...

Texas Capitol jolted by investigation of attorney general, accusation House speaker was drunk on job

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:24 GMT

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas lawmakers revealed Tuesday a monthslong corruption investigation into Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton, going public with the probe shortly after Paxton accused the GOP House speaker of being drunk on the job.Hours after Paxton’s claim, House Speaker Dade Phelan announced the House General Investigating Committee has been looking into “alleged illegal conduct” by Paxton, who is already under FBI investigation over accusations of corruption by former staff. Phelan brushed off Paxton’s allegation as a desperate attempt “to save face.”Both jolted the Texas Capitol near the frantic end of a legislative session that has again laid bare the raw divisions between Republicans who control every level of power in the state goverment.At stake for Paxton in the final days of the session is whether lawmakers will approve using $3.3 million in taxpayer dollars to settle a lawsuit brought by the attorney general’s accusers. Paxton, who...

Typhoon Mawar closes in on Guam as residents shelter, military sends away ships

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:24 GMT

HAGATNA, Guam (AP) — Residents stockpiled supplies, battened down windows and abandoned wood and tin homes for emergency shelters as Guam was buffeted by rains and winds Wednesday from Typhoon Mawar, the strongest storm to approach the U.S. Pacific territory in decades.The U.S. military sent away ships, President Joe Biden approved an emergency declaration and anyone not living in a concrete house was urged to seek safety elsewhere ahead of the typhoon, which was forecast to arrive as a Category 4 storm but could possibly strengthen to a Category 5. The last Category 5 to make a direct hit in Guam was Super Typhoon Karen in 1962. Guam Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero said on social media that the emergency declaration will support the mobilization of resources into Guam, which is “especially crucial given our distance from the continental U.S.” Guerrero ordered residents of coastal, low-lying and flood-prone areas of the territory of over 150,000 people to evacuate to higher elevations.Federa...

Brazil builds ‘rings of carbon dioxide’ to simulate climate change in the Amazon

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:24 GMT

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — In the depths of the Amazon, Brazil is building an otherworldly structure — a complex of towers arrayed in six rings, poised to spray mists of carbon dioxide into the rainforest. But the reason is utterly terrestrial: to understand how the world’s largest tropical forest responds to climate change.Dubbed AmazonFACE, the project will probe the forest’s remarkable ability to sequester carbon dioxide — an essential piece in the puzzle of world climate change. This will help scientists understand whether the region has a tipping point that could throw it into a state of irreversible decline. Such a feared event, also known as the Amazon forest dieback, would transform the world’s most biodiverse forest into a drier savannah-like landscape.FACE stands for Free Air CO2 Enrichment. This technology first developed by Brookhaven National Laboratory, located near New York City, has the ability to modify the surrounding environment of growing plants in a way that replicat...

Protesters cut short questioning of San Francisco mayor over drug crisis

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:24 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Protesters cut short a rare outdoor meeting of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors Tuesday where the board president had planned to question Mayor London Breed on her administration’s response to the crisis of brazen open-air drug dealing. Board President Aaron Peskin moved the first part of the board’s weekly meeting to a plaza in the troubled Tenderloin neighborhood near City Hall, where rampant dealing and drug use take place. He asked the mayor if she would commit to setting up an emergency operations center and coordinate departments to shut down “public drug dealing” in open sites such as in the plaza within 90 days. But heckling and chants of “no more cops” from the large crowd were so loud that Peskin moved the meeting back to City Hall before the mayor could answer. Breed did not answer Peskin’s question directly after the meeting reconvened indoors.The fentanyl crisis has hit all of California, including San Francisco. In April, Gov. Gav...