Jorge L. Ortiz

1 week ago | usatoday.com | Jorge L. Ortiz

Noxious wildfire smoke from Canada will infiltrate the U.S. through the north this weekend, just as African dust clouds approach from the east. They have nothing to do with the Trump tariffs and might not be as ominous as it sounds, but their presence will be noticeable. Meteorologists are especially keeping track of the smoke, emanating from wildfires in Canadian territory from British Columbia to Manitoba, which have the potential to cause health problems in American soil.

1 week ago | usatoday.com | Jorge L. Ortiz

SAN FRANCISCO – The major heat wave expected in California’s Central Valley this weekend will bring triple-digit temperatures and increased fire risk, a harbinger for what figures to be another scorching summer. And this year the typically cool coastal areas may not be spared, raising the possibility of even more widely spread wildfires for a state long beleaguered by them.

2 weeks ago | usatoday.com | Jorge L. Ortiz

St. Louis Mayor Cara Spencer will seek a new top emergency official after warning sirens failed to be activated ahead of what she called “the most horrific and deadly storm our city has seen in my lifetime,” including a tornado that killed five people and injured dozens.

2 weeks ago | usatoday.com | John Bacon |Jorge L. Ortiz

• Five of the 10 inmates who fled the Orleans Justice Center on May 16 have been recaptured. • The five who remain at large "are considered to be armed and dangerous.''The massive manhunt for five of the 10 inmates who escaped a New Orleans jail stretched into a sixth day on May 21, a day after the fifth inmate was recaptured and a maintenance worker was arrested in connection with the case. Corey Boyd, 19, was taken into custody in New Orleans on May 20, according to Louisiana State Police.

4 weeks ago | poughkeepsiejournal.com | Mike Randall |John Bacon |Jorge L. Ortiz |Kim Hjelmgaard |Susan Miller

Mike Randall John Bacon Jorge L. Ortiz Kim Hjelmgaard Susan MillerMiddletown Times Herald-Record, USA TODAYThe first American-born pope was named May 8. Pope Leo XIV was born in Chicago and has devoted much of his work in Peru. Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, an American who has long worked in Peru, was elected the new pope of the Roman Catholic Church on May 8. He took the name Pope Leo XIV. In the Hudson Valley, local Catholic leaders were pleased with the choice.