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New theory of Earth's rapid creation makes alien life more likely

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:25 GMT

(The Hill) – The formation of the Earth may have looked more like a fast, inevitable landslide than like a slow series of occasional cataclysms, as scientists have long theorized, according to findings published on Wednesday in Nature.If it did, Earth-like planets could be far more common than previously thought, the findings suggest.The paper represents a groundbreaking revision of the conventional understanding of how the Earth was created — and a new theory about the origin of the planet's life-giving water.The appearance of that water, its authors wrote, "might not have happened entirely by chance." Here’s the richest person in your state, according to Forbes That would represent very good news for the search for Earth-like planets — not to mention alien life.The findings put forward a radically revised model of how planets like ours — small, rocky and wet — tend to form across the galaxy, under wh...

State legislators invited to DC to discuss protecting reproductive rights

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:25 GMT

WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) -- Ahead of the first anniversary of Roe v. Wade overturning, 80 legislators from across the country came to the White House this week to talk about how each of their states is protecting reproductive rights."We're still working really, really hard with those patients in mind who need access to care," Maryland State Sen. Ariana Kelly said.Joanna McClinton, Speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, said it is important to preserve safe and legal access to abortion. "We need to make sure that in states where it's still available, it's still legal, it's still safe, that we recognize, we're not just servicing women in Pennsylvania, we're servicing our neighbors," McClinton said.The Biden administration invited them to share potential solutions with each other."We really get some great ideas and find better ways to work together to defend people's rights," Michigan Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks said.Said Illinois State Rep. Kelly Cassidy: "Being ab...

A historical look at Texas and its 8 SEC regular season opponents in 2024

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:25 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Some of the schools Texas will play in its inaugural season in the Southeastern Conference are firmly entrenched in program history as rivals, and some haven't played the Longhorns since the Coolidge administration.While Texas A&M and Oklahoma are the obvious rivals for the Longhorns, another one from the days of the Southwest Conference will be reborn when Texas goes to Fayetteville to take on the Arkansas Razorbacks. The schools have played occasionally in nonconference and bowl settings, but they'll be conference foes once again in 2024. Longhorns to renew rivalry with Aggies as SEC releases 2024 football matchups Here's a look at all eight of the Longhorns' conference opponents in 2024:Texas A&M AggiesIt has been 23 years too long since the Aggies and Longhorns have met on the gridiron. The teams last played an epic game at Kyle Field in 2011, and it ended on a Justin Tucker field goal with time expiring to lift the Longhorns to a 27-25 win. Tucker was ...

Man pleads guilty to firing at White Bear Lake police officers, shooting one three times

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:25 GMT

A White Bear Lake man will receive a 19-year prison sentence after admitting this week to firing at four police officers through his apartment door in January, hitting one of them three times.Daniel Loren Holmgren Jr., 33, pleaded guilty Tuesday to one count of attempted first-degree murder of a peace officer and three counts of first-degree assault on a peace officer in connection with the Jan. 24 shooting.Daniel Loren Holmgren Jr. (Courtesy of the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office)A plea agreement calls for an agreed-upon sentence of 19 years; the statutory maximum is 20 years. He remains jailed ahead of his Aug. 24 sentencing.According to the criminal complaint, Ryan Sheak and three other White Bear Lake officers were at Holmgren’s apartment complex in the 3100 block of Karth Road to arrest him on a warrant in an open 2021 case charging him with assaulting his mother and threatening to shoot an officer.Holmgren was in his bedroom with the door closed and refused to come ...

Chief Justice Lorie Gildea to step down from Minnesota Supreme Court

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:25 GMT

Chief Justice Lorie Skjerven Gildea announced Thursday that she will resign from the Minnesota Supreme Court effective Oct. 1.Gildea is the third-longest-serving chief justice in Minnesota history, and the longest-serving since 1913. Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty appointed her to the state Supreme Court as an associate justice on Jan. 11, 2006. She became chief justice on July 1, 2010, becoming just the second female to hold the position.“Serving as Minnesota’s Chief Justice has been the honor of a lifetime, and I am deeply grateful to the people of Minnesota for giving me this opportunity,” Gildea, 61, said in a statement.She said although the decision to step down was not an easy one, “it is the right moment.”“Our courts have largely recovered from the impacts of the pandemic, we secured important investments for our justice system in the recently completed Legislative Session, our judiciary is on solid fiscal footing, and the Minnesota Judicial Council has adopted an innovative St...

Woman charged with striking Rent-A-Center employee with firearm

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:25 GMT

ALTON, Ill. - A Godfrey, Illinois, woman has been charged in connection with an altercation inside an Alton business that ended with her striking an employee with a gun and resulted in her being shot.According to Chief Jarrett Ford, Alton Police Department, the shooting occurred around 10:10 a.m. on June 6, at the Rent-A-Center in the 2800 block of Homer Adams Parkway.Police received two 911 calls: from a woman indicating she’d been shot and a Rent-A-Center employee reporting the incident. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Daily News SIGN UP NOW Officers arrived to find the victim, identified as Lashelle Barrett, in a parked car near the store. First responders with the Alton Fire Department took Barrett to a local hospital before she was moved to St. Louis.Chief ...

Aaron Gordon, Jamal Murray soak up Nuggets’ championship parade in style: “They give me energy”

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:25 GMT

The tallboys flew from both sides of 17th street, crashing and exploding on either side of firetruck No. 22.On one hand, you couldn’t blame the overzealous fans soaking in the Nuggets’ championship parade, since veteran Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was encouraging the alcoholic missiles from the crowd.After he snared one out of thin air, a Jokic-like dart from 20 feet away that further underscored the difference between the professional athletes and the public, more fans started tossing cans from all directions. Aaron Gordon was on the same float, basking alongside Caldwell-Pope in the boisterous revelry. Between crowd roars, a new beer would smack the side of the float and momentarily jar its riders.“The beer throwing is a dangerous game,” Gordon said afterward with a childish grin. “Dangerous but fun.”As truck No. 22 ambled through the champions’ tunnel, Gordon pointed to his ring finger and then revved up an imaginary motorcycle almost as if he could supercharge the crowd. Cald...

RTD plans partial suspensions for R-Line, A-Line this weekend as emergency repairs, planned work coincide

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:25 GMT

The Regional Transportation District plans to suspend R-Line service at several stations in Aurora starting Friday as it grapples with network problems that have snarled traffic at crossings near the Anschutz Campus.The emergency partial shutdown coincides with two planned RTD rail suspensions this weekend — on part of the A-Line Saturday and Sunday due to maintenance work and on the entire L-Line in downtown Denver starting Friday night, to accommodate for the Juneteenth Music Festival in Five Points.The disruptions will affect Aurora riders and near-downtown residents as well as travelers trying to get to and from Denver International Airport on a busy holiday weekend.The R-Line will be replaced by a bus shuttle service between the 13th Avenue and Peoria stations, with the train running normally south of 13th. On the A-Line, RTD plans to run shuttle buses between Peoria and DIA while it performs inspections and maintenance on the system’s overhead electrical wires; the A-Lin...

Denver Nuggets fans revel in team’s first championship parade: “One of the best times of my life”

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:25 GMT

Nikola Jokic, the 7-foot Serbian drafted during a Taco Bell commercial nine years ago, smiled bashfully as he stood on stage Thursday in front of Denver City Hall.In front of him stood throngs of adoring fans clad in worn-out jerseys, a visual timeline of beloved Denver Nuggets players who could never quite get over the hump: Carmelo Anthony and Dikembe Mutombo, Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf and Nick Van Exel.As the star center took the microphone, fans broke out in “MVP! MVP!” chants, pumping their fists.“You know that (I) told (you) that I don’t want to stay (for the) parade,” Jokic said, “but I (expletive) want to stay (for the) parade.”The crowd, which stretched all the way across Civic Center to the Colorado State Capitol, roared.“This is amazing,” the two-time NBA MVP continued. “We’re all gonna remember this our whole life.”The short speech from the famously modest basketball savant capped a delirious day in downtow...

Denver medical examiner IDs two men fatally shot in I-25 road rage incident

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:25 GMT

Two men who were shot on Interstate 25 in Denver in a road rage incident have been identified by the Denver Office of the Medical Examiner.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | Boulder mother charged with murder in strangulation of 2-month-old son Crime and Public Safety | Aurora 18-year-olds arrested in fatal road-rage shooting Crime and Public Safety | Arvada drug deal leads to fatal stabbing Crime and Public Safety | Boulder mother accused of killing infant son had postpartum mental health problems, affidavit says Crime and Public Safety | Denver jury finds Warren Simpson guilty of murder in Park Hill shooting The victims of the double fatal shooting are Blake Lucas, 21, and Damon Lucas, 22, according to the medical examiner. Blake Lucas was pronounced dead at the scene on Tuesday. Damon Lucas was taken to Denver Health Medical Center where he was pronounced deceased. Both men died of gunshot woun...