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WASHINGTON (AP) — The decade that just ended was by far the hottest ever measured on Earth, capped off by the second-warmest year on record, two U.S. agencies reported Wednesday. And scientists said they see no end to the way man-made climate change keeps shattering records.

“This is real.

We live in the Midwest, so dealing with inclement winter weather goes with the territory.

Last weekend’s brush with what could have been a very bad storm was bound to happen sooner or later. Good thing we didn’t get the 8 to 10 inches of snow some forecasters were predicting.

Still, trying to deal with even a little freezing rain makes me nervous. Snow, I can handle, but ice, no thanks.

CANBERRA, Australia – Fire alarms have been sounding in high-rise buildings across downtown Sydney and Melbourne as dense smoke from distant wildfires confuse electronic sensors.

A McHenry County board member filed an ethics violation and fraud complaint on Tuesday against her primary opponent, Rep.

Freezing rain could make Wednesday morning's commute “hazardous," according to the National Weather Service.

“Ice accumulation in parking lots, roads, and sidewalks could make for slippery and hazardous travel first thing in the morning, and that would include the morning rush hour commute,” NWS meteorologist Mark Ratzer said.

Tuesday night's low is forecast to reach 26 degrees. Freezing drizzle will begin predawn about 4 a.m.

DES MOINES, Iowa – Elizabeth Warren made a forceful case for a female president and stood behind her accusation suggesting sexism by progressive rival Bernie Sanders Tuesday night in a Democratic debate that raised gender as a key issue in the sprint to Iowa’s presidential caucuses.

Sanders vehemently denied Warren's accusation, which threatened to split the Democratic Party’s left flank -- as well as the senators' longtime liberal alliance -- at a critical moment less than three weeks before voting begins.

“Look

CHICAGO – A man who police suspect strangled a 16-year-old suburban Chicago girl in 1976 may have killed as many as a dozen young women and plotted to kill others before he died during a fatal knife attack on a teenage boy, a detective investigating the case said Tuesday.

“When we start digging to see common threads [in missing persons cases], there are nine that we’re aware of and that number could go up to 12,” Lisle Police Detective Chris Loudon said of his investigation into Bruce Lindahl, who has been linked by DNA evidence to the 1976 slaying

BOSTON – A U.S. cybersecurity company says Russian military agents have successfully hacked the Ukrainian gas company at the center of the scandal that led to President Donald Trump’s impeachment.

Russian agents launched a phishing campaign in early November to steal the login credentials of employees of Burisma Holdings, the gas company, according to Area 1 Security, a Silicon Valley company that specializes in email security.

Hunter Biden, son of former U.S.

BRUSSELS – Britain, France and Germany on Tuesday ratcheted up pressure on Iran to stop violating its landmark nuclear deal in a last-ditch effort to resolve their differences through talks while also starting a process that could bring back punishing U.N. sanctions on Tehran.

The three European Union countries are being pressed on one side by U.S.

BRUSSELS – The European Union plans to dedicate a quarter of its budget to tackling climate change and to help shift 1 trillion euros ($1.1 trillion) in investment toward making the economy more environmentally friendly over the next 10 years.

The Europe Investment Plan unveiled Tuesday will be funded by the EU budget and the private sector.