US investigators say plane was overweight for icy conditions in crash that killed 10

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The National Transportation Safety Board says a commuter plane that crashed on sea ice off Alaska and killed all 10 people on board was half a ton overweight for the weather conditions. The preliminary report released Wednesday says the small plane was too heavy for conditions that cause icing at the speed and altitude it was flying. A final report is expected later. The Feb 6. crash was one of Alaska’s deadliest plane crashes this century and the third major U.S. aviation mishap in an eight-day stretch. The Bering Air single-engine turboprop was on a regularly scheduled flight between the community of Unalakleet and Nome, when it went down.

Blizzard conditions hit the Midwest while wildfires threaten Central US

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Another storm system is affecting millions of people in the middle of the U.S. Parts of the Midwest and Great Plains faced blizzard conditions Wednesday and a broad swath of neighboring states are at risk of high winds and wildfires. The National Weather Service says roughly 72 million people have been under a wind advisory or warning, with winds gusting over 45 mph. A band from southwestern Kansas up to central Wisconsin is expecting to see as little as 2 inches of snow or as much as a foot Wednesday. Forecasters are warning of whiteout conditions. Strong winds combined with dry conditions from Texas and Oklahoma up through Arkansas and central Missouri bring the potential for wildfires.

DOGE official takes a leadership role at USAID

WASHINGTON (AP) — A senior official at Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency is taking a leadership role at the U.S. Agency for International Development, giving DOGE a top job at an agency that it has helped dismantle. That’s according to an email by State Department official Pete Marocco obtained by The Associated Press. Jeremy Lewin played a central role in DOGE’s government-cutting efforts at USAID and other federal agencies. He becomes at least the second DOGE lieutenant to be appointed to a top job within an agency, further formalizing the work of Musk’s associates in the federal government. Marocco will serve as the State Department’s director of foreign assistance.

Jury finds Greenpeace must

pay hundreds of millions in case

MANDAN, N.D. (AP) — A North Dakota jury has found Greenpeace liable for defamation and other claims in connection with protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline. The jury on Wednesday said the environmental advocacy group must pay hundreds of millions of dollars to Dallas-based Energy Transfer and its subsidiary Dakota Access. The companies had alleged defamation, trespass, nuisance, civil conspiracy and other claims against Greenpeace International, Greenpeace USA and Greenpeace Fund Inc. Attorneys for Greenpeace denied the claims.