Category: News
DC Finally Breaks Longest Freeze Streak Since 1989
DC Finally Breaks Longest Freeze Streak Since 1989
While Al Gore and the globalists were chatting up a storm at the World Economic Forum in Davos about cow fart-induced global warming, the eastern half of the U.S. was locked in a dangerous cold pattern not seen in decades.
The Washington Post’s in-house weather team, known as the Capital Weather Gang, wrote on X that temperatures across the Washington, DC metro area finally edged up above freezing on Tuesday afternoon, ending a 233-hour stretch at or below freezing that began January 23 (or around the time when Gore was spewing global warming propaganda at WEF).
While just shy of ten full days, the nine-day run ties for the fifth-longest such streak on record, dating back to 1872. It also marks only the second time since records moved to National Airport in 1945 that D.C. has seen a freeze of this length, with the previous event occurring in December 1989.
The longest freeze in D.C. on record was a 12-day streak in early 1936 and in February 1895.
REJOICE! It is above freezing in DC. 💃🕺
Just barely, but it counts.
The thermometer ticked up to 33 in D.C. at 2 p.m. It’s the first time the city has risen above 32 since January 23 at 8 p.m.
That’s a streak of 233 hours at or below freezing, now done.
Although we closed… pic.twitter.com/vcuy5Lwmlm
— Capital Weather Gang (@capitalweather) February 2, 2026
Actual average weather temperatures across the D.C. metro show the deep freeze ended on Tuesday afternoon. However, forecasts show another blast of arctic air is slated for this weekend.
Down south, the National Weather Service in Miami reported that Sunday marked the coldest temperature in 36 years, matching the 1989 record.
2/1 @ 6PM: The coldest temperature in roughly 36 years (1989) was observed in West Palm Beach this morning, breaking the old record low temp for the date.
Miami also set a new record low temp for the date, recording the coldest observed temperature in 16 years (2010). pic.twitter.com/UHg7PTpCD5
— NWS Miami (@NWSMiami) February 1, 2026
What a brutal winter it has been so far for the eastern half of the U.S.
Dangerous cold has stressed natural gas infrastructure, with freeze-offs briefly sending spot prices soaring before they reversed at the start of the week (read here). At the same time, heating demand from households and businesses pushed power prices sharply higher across the Mid-Atlantic, where grids are already under strain from data center expansion and years of grid mismanagement linked to failed green energy policies.
What saved the grid from collapse was the Trump administration’s swift action to allow fossil-fuel power plants to operate around the clock. NatGas and coal power generation were the big winners.
Tyler Durden
Wed, 02/04/2026 – 16:40
https://www.zerohedge.com/weather/dc-finally-breaks-longest-freeze-streak-1989
City of Aurora taking early steps to demolish Central Garage
The city of Aurora is taking early steps to tear down its Central Garage now that operations previously housed there have been moved to the new Public Works facility.
Heading before the Aurora City Council next week is a contract for a third party to do a “comprehensive site investigation” of the property at 720 N. Broadway, which used to house the city’s Streets Division. Earlier studies found some contamination, which prompted the comprehensive investigation, Capital Projects Manager Ian Wade told the Aurora City Council’s Infrastructure and Technology Committee late last month.
“Nothing unexpected, but it definitely indicated that there was this additional work that was required,” he said of the early findings.
Aurora recently consolidated multiple buildings’ worth of fleet operations into a single building: the new Public Works facility at 2185 Liberty St. which opened last year. The previous three buildings — Central Garage along with one for the Electrical Department and one for the Water and Sewer Department — needed about $5.3 million in repairs, officials have said.
About $4.2 million of those repairs were needed at the Central Garage, and so it was said at the time that the building would be torn down. The nearly 8-acre site, which runs along the Fox River and nearby bike trails, was considered a prime development location.
Now the city is moving forward with fully decommissioning and demolishing the Central Garage to get that property ready to market for future development, Wade said at the Infrastructure and Technology Committee meeting on Jan. 26.
Then on Tuesday at a meeting of the City Council Committee of the Whole, Ald. Carl Franco, 5th Ward, asked if there was a plan for the site once the building was demolished and remediated. Brian Caputo, director of fiscal integrity and operations management, said the city didn’t have anything concrete and that it was still being looked into.
A phase one review of the site has already taken place, according to Wade.
Initial phase two investigations found contaminates in samples taken at the site, although the results don’t mean that there are “alarms going off” — the findings were to be expected from a site that had been used for fueling and similar things, he said at last month’s Infrastructure and Technology Committee meeting.
So now, the city is looking to have a comprehensive site investigation done by Fehr Graham of Rockford at a cost of around $135,000. That contract is heading for final approval at the Aurora City Council meeting on Tuesday, where it will likely pass since it was placed on the meeting’s consent agenda, which is typically reserved for routine or non-controversial items that are all approved with a single vote.
Aurora also previously had an asbestos and lead paint survey done in 2025, according to a city staff report about the project, and so contracts for work to remove asbestos from the building may come forward for City Council approval later this year.
rsmith@chicagotribune.com
City of Aurora taking early steps to demolish Central Garage
The city of Aurora is taking early steps to tear down its Central Garage now that operations previously housed there have been moved to the new Public Works facility.
Heading before the Aurora City Council next week is a contract for a third party to do a “comprehensive site investigation” of the property at 720 N. Broadway, which used to house the city’s Streets Division. Earlier studies found some contamination, which prompted the comprehensive investigation, Capital Projects Manager Ian Wade told the Aurora City Council’s Infrastructure and Technology Committee late last month.
“Nothing unexpected, but it definitely indicated that there was this additional work that was required,” he said of the early findings.
Aurora recently consolidated multiple buildings’ worth of fleet operations into a single building: the new Public Works facility at 2185 Liberty St. which opened last year. The previous three buildings — Central Garage along with one for the Electrical Department and one for the Water and Sewer Department — needed about $5.3 million in repairs, officials have said.
About $4.2 million of those repairs were needed at the Central Garage, and so it was said at the time that the building would be torn down. The nearly 8-acre site, which runs along the Fox River and nearby bike trails, was considered a prime development location.
Now the city is moving forward with fully decommissioning and demolishing the Central Garage to get that property ready to market for future development, Wade said at the Infrastructure and Technology Committee meeting on Jan. 26.
Then on Tuesday at a meeting of the City Council Committee of the Whole, Ald. Carl Franco, 5th Ward, asked if there was a plan for the site once the building was demolished and remediated. Brian Caputo, director of fiscal integrity and operations management, said the city didn’t have anything concrete and that it was still being looked into.
A phase one review of the site has already taken place, according to Wade.
Initial phase two investigations found contaminates in samples taken at the site, although the results don’t mean that there are “alarms going off” — the findings were to be expected from a site that had been used for fueling and similar things, he said at last month’s Infrastructure and Technology Committee meeting.
So now, the city is looking to have a comprehensive site investigation done by Fehr Graham of Rockford at a cost of around $135,000. That contract is heading for final approval at the Aurora City Council meeting on Tuesday, where it will likely pass since it was placed on the meeting’s consent agenda, which is typically reserved for routine or non-controversial items that are all approved with a single vote.
Aurora also previously had an asbestos and lead paint survey done in 2025, according to a city staff report about the project, and so contracts for work to remove asbestos from the building may come forward for City Council approval later this year.
rsmith@chicagotribune.com
City of Aurora taking early steps to demolish Central Garage
The city of Aurora is taking early steps to tear down its Central Garage now that operations previously housed there have been moved to the new Public Works facility.
Heading before the Aurora City Council next week is a contract for a third party to do a “comprehensive site investigation” of the property at 720 N. Broadway, which used to house the city’s Streets Division. Earlier studies found some contamination, which prompted the comprehensive investigation, Capital Projects Manager Ian Wade told the Aurora City Council’s Infrastructure and Technology Committee late last month.
“Nothing unexpected, but it definitely indicated that there was this additional work that was required,” he said of the early findings.
Aurora recently consolidated multiple buildings’ worth of fleet operations into a single building: the new Public Works facility at 2185 Liberty St. which opened last year. The previous three buildings — Central Garage along with one for the Electrical Department and one for the Water and Sewer Department — needed about $5.3 million in repairs, officials have said.
About $4.2 million of those repairs were needed at the Central Garage, and so it was said at the time that the building would be torn down. The nearly 8-acre site, which runs along the Fox River and nearby bike trails, was considered a prime development location.
Now the city is moving forward with fully decommissioning and demolishing the Central Garage to get that property ready to market for future development, Wade said at the Infrastructure and Technology Committee meeting on Jan. 26.
Then on Tuesday at a meeting of the City Council Committee of the Whole, Ald. Carl Franco, 5th Ward, asked if there was a plan for the site once the building was demolished and remediated. Brian Caputo, director of fiscal integrity and operations management, said the city didn’t have anything concrete and that it was still being looked into.
A phase one review of the site has already taken place, according to Wade.
Initial phase two investigations found contaminates in samples taken at the site, although the results don’t mean that there are “alarms going off” — the findings were to be expected from a site that had been used for fueling and similar things, he said at last month’s Infrastructure and Technology Committee meeting.
So now, the city is looking to have a comprehensive site investigation done by Fehr Graham of Rockford at a cost of around $135,000. That contract is heading for final approval at the Aurora City Council meeting on Tuesday, where it will likely pass since it was placed on the meeting’s consent agenda, which is typically reserved for routine or non-controversial items that are all approved with a single vote.
Aurora also previously had an asbestos and lead paint survey done in 2025, according to a city staff report about the project, and so contracts for work to remove asbestos from the building may come forward for City Council approval later this year.
rsmith@chicagotribune.com
Gary man gets 2 years for shooting at couple outside laundromat
A judge sentenced a Gary man to two years in prison Wednesday after admitting he opened fire at a couple outside a laundromat last spring.
Dy’Juan Washington, 21, pleaded guilty in December to criminal recklessness. He faced one to six years.
No one was hurt.
Police responded at 12:25 p.m. April 24. The couple said they were at Ladybug Cleaners, 2368 Grant Street, when Washington walked inside.
The man said he’s had issues with Washington for three years, but didn’t know his legal name when he went to the cops previously.
The man said he went to move his girlfriend’s vehicle when Washington pulled up and threatened them.
“I’ll kill you. Y’all playing with me,” he told the woman.
He fired three or four shots and nearly hit the man. The bullet pierced their door. Police found three casings nearby.
His defense lawyer Matthew Lawson said in court Wednesday it was part of a “feud” between neighbors.
He alleged the victim’s loose dog had bitten him and Washington killed it to protect himself.
Lawson later said that the male victim followed Washington with a gun in a grocery store about a month before the laundromat shooting.
The lawyer asked for his client to avoid prison with a community corrections sentence.
Deputy Prosecutor Keith Anderson played a less than a minute video clip of the shooting.
Others in the vehicle parked next to the victims could have been hurt, he said. He asked for a split four-year term with two in prison and two in community corrections.
Washington apologized in court and said he didn’t intend to hurt anyone else.
Judge Salvador Vasquez questioned Washington to rule out self-defense.
“Maybe it’s good you’re a bad shot,” he said.
He sentenced him to two years, saying it was a “break.”
Post-Tribune archives contributed.
mcolias@post-trib.com
Gary man gets 2 years for shooting at couple outside laundromat
A judge sentenced a Gary man to two years in prison Wednesday after admitting he opened fire at a couple outside a laundromat last spring.
Dy’Juan Washington, 21, pleaded guilty in December to criminal recklessness. He faced one to six years.
No one was hurt.
Police responded at 12:25 p.m. April 24. The couple said they were at Ladybug Cleaners, 2368 Grant Street, when Washington walked inside.
The man said he’s had issues with Washington for three years, but didn’t know his legal name when he went to the cops previously.
The man said he went to move his girlfriend’s vehicle when Washington pulled up and threatened them.
“I’ll kill you. Y’all playing with me,” he told the woman.
He fired three or four shots and nearly hit the man. The bullet pierced their door. Police found three casings nearby.
His defense lawyer Matthew Lawson said in court Wednesday it was part of a “feud” between neighbors.
He alleged the victim’s loose dog had bitten him and Washington killed it to protect himself.
Lawson later said that the male victim followed Washington with a gun in a grocery store about a month before the laundromat shooting.
The lawyer asked for his client to avoid prison with a community corrections sentence.
Deputy Prosecutor Keith Anderson played a less than a minute video clip of the shooting.
Others in the vehicle parked next to the victims could have been hurt, he said. He asked for a split four-year term with two in prison and two in community corrections.
Washington apologized in court and said he didn’t intend to hurt anyone else.
Judge Salvador Vasquez questioned Washington to rule out self-defense.
“Maybe it’s good you’re a bad shot,” he said.
He sentenced him to two years, saying it was a “break.”
Post-Tribune archives contributed.
mcolias@post-trib.com
Gary man charged in drunken Merrillville crash that hurt his kids
A Gary man is facing charges for a drunken crash in Merrillville that hurt at least two of his kids, according to charging documents.
Patrick Stevens, 37, was charged Tuesday with 15 felonies, including neglect of a dependent resulting in serious bodily injury and operating a vehicle while intoxicated. He also faces four misdemeanors.
He has not been apprehended. When arrested, he is ordered held on a $15,000 cash bond.
Merrillville Police responded just before 4 p.m. Jan. 5 to the 6700 block of Harrison Street for a rollover crash. Officers found an empty white Dodge Journey on its hood with a car seat inside.
A “small crowd” gathered around Stevens and his three children, aged 8, 7, and 2, who were down the block.
A witness said the vehicle sped down the road, hit a tree, flipped and slid down the street, hitting multiple mailboxes.
Stevens was “unsteady” and fell multiple times, according to the affidavit.
The children were “covered in a significant amount of blood,” according to court records. A child, 8, had a big forehead gash.
Stevens said he was taking them home from school and denied he was drinking, but had recently smoked marijuana. He said another vehicle hit him.
He scored above the legal limit of .08 on a breathalyzer, but declined a chemical breath test. Police got a warrant for a blood draw, which also was over the legal limit.
The children told paramedics that none were wearing seat belts.
A woman said she was turning into a driveway when Stevens’ vehicle clipped her at a high rate of speed, court records state.
One of Stevens’ children suffered a broken wrist and another has a significant concussion.
mcolias@post-trib.com
Gary man charged in drunken Merrillville crash that hurt his kids
A Gary man is facing charges for a drunken crash in Merrillville that hurt at least two of his kids, according to charging documents.
Patrick Stevens, 37, was charged Tuesday with 15 felonies, including neglect of a dependent resulting in serious bodily injury and operating a vehicle while intoxicated. He also faces four misdemeanors.
He has not been apprehended. When arrested, he is ordered held on a $15,000 cash bond.
Merrillville Police responded just before 4 p.m. Jan. 5 to the 6700 block of Harrison Street for a rollover crash. Officers found an empty white Dodge Journey on its hood with a car seat inside.
A “small crowd” gathered around Stevens and his three children, aged 8, 7, and 2, who were down the block.
A witness said the vehicle sped down the road, hit a tree, flipped and slid down the street, hitting multiple mailboxes.
Stevens was “unsteady” and fell multiple times, according to the affidavit.
The children were “covered in a significant amount of blood,” according to court records. A child, 8, had a big forehead gash.
Stevens said he was taking them home from school and denied he was drinking, but had recently smoked marijuana. He said another vehicle hit him.
He scored above the legal limit of .08 on a breathalyzer, but declined a chemical breath test. Police got a warrant for a blood draw, which also was over the legal limit.
The children told paramedics that none were wearing seat belts.
A woman said she was turning into a driveway when Stevens’ vehicle clipped her at a high rate of speed, court records state.
One of Stevens’ children suffered a broken wrist and another has a significant concussion.
mcolias@post-trib.com
Cartel colombiano Clan del Golfo suspende diálogo de paz por acuerdo entre Petro y Trump
Associated Press
BOGOTÁ (AP) — El Clan del Golfo, el mayor cartel activo de Colombia, suspendió provisionalmente el miércoles los diálogos de paz que mantenía con el gobierno de Gustavo Petro con miras a su desmovilización tras la reunión con el presidente estadounidense Donald Trump en la que ofreció neutralizar a uno de sus principales cabecillas.
La agrupación armada publicó el anunció en su cuenta de X señalando que la medida se adopta por orden del Estado Mayor Conjunto del Ejército Gaitanista de Colombia (EGC), como también se conoce al clan, “hasta realizar las consultas y aclarar la veracidad de la información”.
El martes Petroy Trump se reunieron en la Casa Blanca, en Washington, tras varios meses de desencuentros y cruces verbales en los que el gobernante estadounidense cuestionó al líder sudamericano por su política antidrogas. La cita se centró en la cooperación en seguridad regional y los esfuerzos contra el narcotráfico.
Citando versiones de la prensa local, el Clan del Golfo cuestionó que Petro haya entregado a Estados Unidos “los nombres de tres capos del narcotráfico en Colombia, alias Pablito, Iván Mordisco y Chiquito Malo” a lo cuales se comprometió a neutralizar en dos meses.
Jobanis de Jesús Ávila, alias “Chiquito Malo”, quedó al mando del Clan del Golfo luego de que fuera capturado en 2022 y luego extraditado Dairo Antonio Úsuga, alias “Otoniel”, otrora el máximo líder de la organización.
“Si la información de los medios es cierta, esto sería un atentado contra la buena fe y los compromisos de Doha (capital de Qatar)”, continuó el mensaje de ese cartel.
Desde septiembre el gobierno colombiano adelanta los diálogos con el Clan del Golfo en Qatar, donde acordaron establecer zonas especiales para ubicar a los integrantes de ese grupo ilegal en busca de su eventual desmovilización.
Pese a que Estados Unidos declaró en diciembre a esa organización como terrorista Colombia continuaba en la mesa de negociación.
“El presidente Petro antepuso sus intereses personales sobre el bien mayor, que es la paz en los territorios”, finalizó el mensaje de la agrupación armada.
El Clan del Golfo es el mayor cártel activo de Colombia con presencia en más de una tercera parte del país, según la Defensoría del Pueblo. Las autoridades estiman que está integrado por entre 6.000 y 9.000 armados.
Se trata de un grupo con herencia paramilitar en Colombia, dado que parte sus integrantes provienen de los temidos grupos contrainsurgentes que se desmovilizaron en 2005. Al rearmarse se bautizaron como Los Urabeños, también conocidos como Autodefensas Gaitanistas de Colombia y luego Clan del Golfo.
Hasta el momento ninguna autoridad del gobierno se ha pronunciado sobre el anuncio del Clan.
Cartel colombiano Clan del Golfo suspende diálogo de paz por acuerdo entre Petro y Trump
Associated Press
BOGOTÁ (AP) — El Clan del Golfo, el mayor cartel activo de Colombia, suspendió provisionalmente el miércoles los diálogos de paz que mantenía con el gobierno de Gustavo Petro con miras a su desmovilización tras la reunión con el presidente estadounidense Donald Trump en la que ofreció neutralizar a uno de sus principales cabecillas.
La agrupación armada publicó el anunció en su cuenta de X señalando que la medida se adopta por orden del Estado Mayor Conjunto del Ejército Gaitanista de Colombia (EGC), como también se conoce al clan, “hasta realizar las consultas y aclarar la veracidad de la información”.
El martes Petroy Trump se reunieron en la Casa Blanca, en Washington, tras varios meses de desencuentros y cruces verbales en los que el gobernante estadounidense cuestionó al líder sudamericano por su política antidrogas. La cita se centró en la cooperación en seguridad regional y los esfuerzos contra el narcotráfico.
Citando versiones de la prensa local, el Clan del Golfo cuestionó que Petro haya entregado a Estados Unidos “los nombres de tres capos del narcotráfico en Colombia, alias Pablito, Iván Mordisco y Chiquito Malo” a lo cuales se comprometió a neutralizar en dos meses.
Jobanis de Jesús Ávila, alias “Chiquito Malo”, quedó al mando del Clan del Golfo luego de que fuera capturado en 2022 y luego extraditado Dairo Antonio Úsuga, alias “Otoniel”, otrora el máximo líder de la organización.
“Si la información de los medios es cierta, esto sería un atentado contra la buena fe y los compromisos de Doha (capital de Qatar)”, continuó el mensaje de ese cartel.
Desde septiembre el gobierno colombiano adelanta los diálogos con el Clan del Golfo en Qatar, donde acordaron establecer zonas especiales para ubicar a los integrantes de ese grupo ilegal en busca de su eventual desmovilización.
Pese a que Estados Unidos declaró en diciembre a esa organización como terrorista Colombia continuaba en la mesa de negociación.
“El presidente Petro antepuso sus intereses personales sobre el bien mayor, que es la paz en los territorios”, finalizó el mensaje de la agrupación armada.
El Clan del Golfo es el mayor cártel activo de Colombia con presencia en más de una tercera parte del país, según la Defensoría del Pueblo. Las autoridades estiman que está integrado por entre 6.000 y 9.000 armados.
Se trata de un grupo con herencia paramilitar en Colombia, dado que parte sus integrantes provienen de los temidos grupos contrainsurgentes que se desmovilizaron en 2005. Al rearmarse se bautizaron como Los Urabeños, también conocidos como Autodefensas Gaitanistas de Colombia y luego Clan del Golfo.
Hasta el momento ninguna autoridad del gobierno se ha pronunciado sobre el anuncio del Clan.
