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Valero agrees to pay $1.2 million to EPA over violations at Benicia refinery

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:06:50 GMT

The Valero refinery in Benicia will pay the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency $1.2 million for violating the Clean Air Act, the EPA announced Wednesday.After what the EPA called “significant chemical incidents” at the refinery in 2017 and 2019, a 2019 inspection found that Valero had failed to report the release of hazardous substances, among other noncompliance issues.“This settlement sends a clear message that EPA will prosecute companies that fail to expend the resources needed to have a compliant, well-functioning Risk Management Plan to the fullest extent of the law,” Larry Starfield, the acting assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance said in a statement.As part of the settlement, Valero has agreed to make chemical safety improvements at the Benicia refinery.Emissions from the refinery have plagued nearby residents in recent years, and in 2019, led city officials to tell residents to stay indoors after the refinery s...

All I-95 southbound lanes blocked in Prince William Co. after police chase leaves 2 injured

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:06:50 GMT

All Interstate 95 southbound lanes are blocked near Exit 148 to Quantico in Prince William County, Virginia, after a police vehicle chase that ended with gunfire south of Dumfries.State police said in a statement they noticed an SUV that had the “wrong license plates displayed on it” in Fairfax County near Exit 167 to Backlick Road. A Virginia state trooper tried to make a traffic stop, which is when the SUV sped away, traveling southbound.More Virginia NewsMore Local NewsClose to Exit 148 in Prince William County, the SUV drove off the right side f the road and crashed into the woods. Troopers said in the statement when police approached the SUV, the driver began shooting at them.State police said they returned fire. The driver, a man, and passenger, a woman, were both injured, police said. It is unclear whether they were hit by police gunfire, their own gunshots or suffered injuries during the crash.Police said the shooting remains under investigation. T...

Kreider, Motte lead Rangers to 6-3 win over Lightning

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:06:50 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Chris Kreider and Tyler Motte each scored twice and the New York Rangers beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 6-3 on Wednesday night.Kaapo Kakko and Artemi Panarin also scored, Mika Zibanejad had three assists and Barclay Goodrow and Adam Fox each had two to help the Rangers win for the fifth time in seven games and improve to 11-2-2 in their last 15 games. Igor Shesterkin stopped 28 shots to win for the ninth time in his last 11 starts.“Our start was good,” Motte said. “We tailed off in second and came back in the third. That’s what good teams do.”Alex Killorn had a goal and an assist, and Darren Raddysh and Brandon Hagel also scored for Tampa Bay, which fell behind 3-0 midway through the first period and snapped a three-game win streak. Andrei Vasilevskiy finished with 31 saves after stopping 99 of 100 shots in the previous three games.“We battled. Down 3-0 eight minutes in, then it was 4-3. I like that,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. “Down 3-0 t...

Milwaukee, Denver wrap up No. 1 seeds in NBA playoffs

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:06:50 GMT

The road to the NBA Finals now goes through Milwaukee. The road out of the Western Conference goes through Denver, for the first time ever.And the rest of the top half of the Eastern Conference playoff bracket is now set as well.The Bucks will have the No. 1 overall seed and home-court advantage for the entirety of their time in the NBA playoffs, after defeating Chicago 105-92 on Wednesday night. Milwaukee is now 58-22 this season; no other team in the league can get to more than 57 wins.“It’s just a credit to the players,” Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said. “The players have really stepped up. I think they’ve embraced the challenge. Night in and night out in this league, it’s hard. There’s great opposition. … To have the best record, it is something that matters. It is important.”The No. 1 seed in the West was decided Wednesday night as well. The Nuggets will have home-court throughout the West playoffs, after New Orleans defeated Memphis in overtime — and took away the last ...

Mavs keep play-in hopes alive with 123-119 win over Kings

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:06:50 GMT

DALLAS (AP) — Kyrie Irving scored 25 of his 31 points during a second-half rally, and the Dallas Mavericks stayed in the race for the final play-in spot in the Western Conference playoffs with a 123-119 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday night.Luka Doncic had 29 points and 10 rebounds as the Mavericks (38-42) matched Oklahoma City’s record for the 10th seed in the West with two games remaining. The Thunder own the tiebreaker, so Dallas, which reached the West finals last year, needs at least one Oklahoma City loss to have a chance at another playoff run.Facing the brink of postseason elimination with a loss, the Mavericks rallied from 13 points down in the third quarter, when Irving started and finished a 12-0 run with 3-pointers for an 82-78 lead.Doncic and Tim Hardaway Jr., who scored 24 points, had the other two 3s on the run as Doncic and Irving won for the fifth time in 16 games together since the blockbuster trade that brought Irving from Brooklyn.Dallas ended a th...

Pelicans top Grizzlies 138-131 in OT, earn play-in spot

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:06:50 GMT

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Herbert Jones scored a career-high 35 points and the New Orleans Pelicans overcame a 19-point deficit to beat the Memphis Grizzlies 138-131 in overtime Wednesday night and clinch a play-in spot.Jones’ fast-break dunk capped a decisive 10-0 run to open the extra period. The surge started with a pair of 3s by Trey Murphy III, who hit seven 3s in the game and finished with 30 points.The Pelicans combined to hit 21 3s, including five by Jones, who is known more as a defender than a scorer and was left wide open on several of his perimeter baskets.CJ McCullum hit six from deep and finished with 31 points and 10 rebounds for New Orleans, while Brandon Ingram overcame a slow start and hit a slew of clutch shots to wind up with 24 points and 13 rebounds.The victory guarantees the Pelicans at least a top- 10 finish in the Western Conference, good enough to get into the play-in. The question is what seeding they’ll have after their final two games.Jaren Jackson ...

Denver mayoral race tightens as vote count continues

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:06:50 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — If you thought the Denver mayoral race was over, think again. The Clerk and Recorder's office is still counting ballots and some candidates are telling city residents not to count them out.As of 5 p.m. Wednesday, Mike Johnston and Kelly Brough are still leading in votes.Johnston is holding steady with around 25% of the votes, but Brough's numbers are shrinking a bit. What’s next for the Park Hill golf course? The developers weigh in At one point on election night, Brough had about 23% of the votes. Wednesday, that number is a little under 21%. Gaining in percentages as votes continue to be counted is Dr. Lisa Calderón, moving up from about 15% Tuesday night to over 17% Wednesday evening. There are also several city council races with candidates leading by razor-thin margins.55,000 ballots came in the last two hoursAn important note: the Clerk's Office still has more than 20,000 ballots to count.Calderón put out a statement on Twitter Wednesday saying she's confide...

Rockies roll out new eats on eve of home opener

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:06:50 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — Wednesday, the Colorado Rockies gave fans a sneak peek at what’s at the concession stand in 2023. Members of the media were introduced to the new “Legacy Club,” which sits high above home plate. Prepare for Rockies home opener crowds The club’s executive chef introduced several items on the menu, including the barbecue chicken and macaroni and cheese sandwich and the “Mustache Pretzel.” The popular “Elvis Milkshake” is also back. Automated concessions, Amazon palm readersThe team also unveiled the “Chill Zone,” behind right-centerfield.It’s a technology-based concession stand that allows fans to walk up and select food and beverage, on their own, without a counter wait. It’s a simple swipe of a credit or debit card, and the system takes care of the rest. Everything you need to know for the Rockies home opener An Amazon kiosk also allows customers to scan the palm of their hand for even easier return visits. It’s enough reason for everybody to be optimistic in ...

Dave Burd, aka rapper Lil Dicky, chats about Season 3 of FXX series ‘Dave’

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:06:50 GMT

Comedy is flying again: Dave Burd is back. The third season of his self-titled series kicked off Wednesday night on FXX. Deco caught up with the funnyman to find out what kind of craziness we can expect-ex-ex.In Season 3 of “Dave,” Dave Burd hits the road for the first time as a rap artist.GaTa (as himself): “It’s your first tour. You’re supposed to go hard.”Going hard isn’t really what he does best.Dave Burd (as himself): “I’m trying to briing back the old school flow, like, ‘My name’s Dave, and I’m here to say.'”Dave’s love of hip-hop is real. His rap name is Lil Dicky, and the video for his song “Ex-Boyfriend” has over million views.Dave Byrd (as Lil Dicky, singing): “And I ain’t usually the one to be the jealous type, but as I’m looking at this dude, I can’t believe my eyes.”So Dave’s definitely got game, but for the sake of the show, he ‘s se...

Trump’s tariff time-bomb threatens to blow up transatlantic trade

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:06:50 GMT

BRUSSELS — The next big transatlantic trade fight is primed to explode. Negotiators from Brussels and Washington are scrambling to solve a five-year dispute over steel and aluminum dating back to former U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to slap tariffs on European imports. They have until October to get a deal but are still so far apart that European officials now fear the chances of an agreement are slim. Without a deal, both sides could reimpose billions of dollars worth of trade tariffs on each other’s goods — potentially spreading well beyond steel to hit products including French wines, U.S. rum, vodka and denim jeans.While U.S. negotiators are still hopeful that an agreement can be reached in time, the political fallout of failure for President Joe Biden would be serious, with U.S. exports facing a hit just ahead of his potential re-election battle in 2024. More broadly, another breakdown in trade relations between Europe and the United States would heap furthe...