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Barely into spring, Phoenix flirts with first triple-digit heat day of 2025

PHOENIX (AP) — Phoenix flirted with its first 100-degree day of the year last week, falling just short of the milestone. Forecasters had signaled the temperature at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport could hit 100, marking what would have been the earliest date on record for the city to hit triple digits. The airport ended up one degree shy at 99 degrees (37.2 Celsius) Tuesday afternoon. On average, Phoenix doesn’t reach 100 until May 11, the National Weather Service said. “It’s unseasonable, but it’s not something people should be concerned about,” said Alicia ...

Longtime Dodgers organist Nancy Bea Hefley dies at 89

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Nancy Bea Hefley, who entertained Los Angeles Dodgers fans as the team’s organist for 27 years, died Saturday. She was 89. Her son, Mark, announced her death in a Facebook post. “We lost my Mom today. She’s in heaven with my Dad, Nancy Bea is gone from us sad day for us but good day for her and my Dad.” The Dodgers said on X that she “delighted millions of fans for nearly 30 years.” Public address announcer Todd Leitz informed the Dodger Stadium crowd of Hefley’s death and there was a moment of silence before the game against the Detroit ...

Weather

Marquette and vicinity: Winter storm warning was in effect until 8 Sunday night for Marquette County. Today, partly cloudy, windy. High near 31 and a low of 16. Winds from the northwest at 21 mph. Tonight, mostly clear. Lows 7 to 12 above inland to around 16 at the shore. Northwest winds 5 to 10 mph, becoming light west after midnight. Extended forecast: Tuesday, partly cloudy. Highs around 33. Southeast winds 5 to 10 mph with gusts up to 20 mph. Tuesday night, a chance of snow after midnight. Cloudy. Lows 19 to 24. Southeast winds 5 to 15 mph with gusts up to 25 mph. Chance of ...

First rain and then fire chase people from their homes in North and South Carolina

By JEFFREY COLLINS and BRITTANY PETERSON Associated Press At least a half-dozen large wildfires continue to burn in the Blue Ridge Mountains of South Carolina and North Carolina. Nicole Taylor had to leave her home with the porch that overlooks Table Rock Mountain in South Carolina. She took video of the smoke pouring off the ridge until an evacuation order came Tuesday. She says she doesn’t know when she can go home. So far no one has been hurt in the fires that have burned more than 20 square miles of mostly rugged remote forests. The firefighting is slow. Water sources are ...

As wildfire season approaches, budget woes and federal uncertainty have put states’ plans at risk

By MARTHA BELLISLE Associated Press SEATTLE (AP) — Budget woes, combined with cuts to the federal wildfire-fighting workforce and President Donald Trump’s tariff and sovereignty threats against Canada, have made it more difficult for state officials to plan for the upcoming wildfire season. In Washington, a $12 billion budget shortfall prompted majority Democrats in the Legislature this week to propose slicing spending on wildfire prevention and fighting by one-third to two-thirds. “These massive cuts to wildfire prevention and response increase the threat to public safety ...

Wildfires in Japan damage homes, force residents to evacuate in at least 2 areas

TOKYO (AP) — Wildfires have hit several regions in western Japan, injuring at least two people, forcing dozens of residents to evacuate and damaging a number of homes as hundreds of firefighters battled the widening blazes in the mountainous areas. The fires in the western towns of Okayama, Imabari and Aso broke out Sunday, quickly burning hundreds of hectares (acres). Six homes have been damaged in city of Okayama, where a fire started on Mount Kaigara and burned 250 hectares (600 acres) of the forest. In Imabari, in the Ehime prefecture on the main island of Shikoku, the fire ...