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Canada’s record wildfire season set to worsen as heat builds

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:53:49 GMT

Canada is bracing for higher-than-normal wildfire activity to continue into August, as soaring temperatures and drought turn much of the country’s vast forests into kindling.The Canada fire season, which normally runs from April to September, is barely half over but the country has already surpassed the modern historical record for area burned, with an estimated 8.8 million hectares scorched so far, an area larger than South Carolina. That’s well above the 10-year average of about 805,000 hectares. The previous record of 7.6 million hectares was set in 1989.“Through July, expected warm and dry conditions will increase wildfire risk from British Columbia and the Yukon across the country right to Western Labrador,” Michael Norton, director general of the Northern Forestry Centre at the Canadian Forest Service, said in a briefing. The area at risk is expected to shrink only slightly in August. “It is anticipated that many parts of Canada will continue to see above normal fire activity,...

SoCal teen in finals for annual duct tape prom dress contest

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:53:49 GMT

When you think about duct tape, your first thought probably isn't elegant promwear, but for a Los Angeles teen, it's just that. Karla Torres dedicated 120 hours of her life and used 14 rolls-worth of duct tape to construct a one-of-a-kind prom dress as part of a nationwide contest.Karla is in the finals of Duck brand's annual Stuck at Prom contest, which challenges high school students to transform the utility do-it-all tape into lavish and unbelievable fashion pieces as either a prom dress or tuxedo.Karla drew on inspiration from 18th Century French art for her duct tape prom gown. (Karla Torres)The duct tape brand reviewed hundreds of entries before narrowing down the field to the top 10. Color, craftsmanship, originality and accessories were all considered in the judging criteria, with grand prizes for the two categories of $10,000 in scholarship money being awarded to the winners.For Karla, the amateur fashionista drew inspiration from 18th-century French art to design her duct ...

Texas gunman in Walmart shooting sentenced to 90 life sentences but could still face death penalty

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:53:49 GMT

EL PASO, Texas (AP) — A white gunman who killed 23 people in a racist attack on Hispanic shoppers at a Walmart in a Texas border city was sentenced Friday to 90 consecutive life sentences but could still face more punishment, including the death penalty.Patrick Crusius, 24, pleaded guilty earlier this year to nearly 50 federal hate crime charges in the 2019 mass shooting in El Paso, making it one of the U.S. government’s largest hate crime cases. Police say Crusius drove more than 700 miles from his home near Dallas to target Hispanics with an AK-style rifle inside and outside the store. Moments before the attack began, Crusius posted a racist screed online that warned of a Hispanic “invasion” of Texas. In the years since the shooting, Republicans have described migrants crossing the southern U.S. border as an “invasion,” waving off critics who say the rhetoric fuels anti-immigrant views and violence.Crusius pleaded guilty in February after federal prosecutors took the death penalty...

Activists in Kenya burn tires and block roads to protest taxes. Police detain more than 20 people

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:53:49 GMT

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Anti-government demonstrators in Kenya lit bonfires and barricaded major roads in the capital Friday as part of nationwide protests against the government’s plans to increase taxes. Police detained more than 20 protesters.Hundreds of protesters turned up in Nairobi, as well as in the coastal city of Mombasa and the lakeside city of Kisumu, where the opposition enjoys huge support. Some businesses closed their doors. Police dispersed the protesters with tear gas canisters.Protester Emmanuel Wafula in Nairobi said he wanted President William Ruto to lower the cost of living, not raise it through his administration’s newly passed tax package. “He wants to tax the little money we have in our pockets. What will we eat?” Wafula said. “He is increasing taxes to people who have nothing. If one has money, it is okay to be taxed. We have nothing!”Nairobi police commander Adamson Bungei told The Associated Press that “more than 20 people” had been arrested by ...

Fire that killed 2 aboard a cargo ship in New Jersey is expected to burn for days

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:53:49 GMT

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — A cargo ship docked at the East Coast’s biggest port smoldered for a third day and will likely burn for several more after the fire claimed the lives of two New Jersey firefighters, officials said Friday, acknowledging that they’ll be discussing how first responders are trained.What caused the fire aboard the Grande Costa d’Avorio, an Italian-flagged vessel carrying cars and other goods, at port in Newark won’t be known until an investigation after the fire is out, according to Coast Guard Capt. Zeita Merchant, the captain of the Port of New York and New Jersey. A crew of 20 firefighters, salvage workers and a New York fire boat blasted jets of water onto the ship to contain the intense heat, which officials have said burned on the 10th through 12th levels at the rear of the ship. Flames occasionally flared from top level. Crews described the difficulty controlling the blaze. “Access is tough. The heat is extreme. It’s a steel box. So it’s...

Stock market today: Wall Street rises after jobs report comes in warm but hopefully not too hot

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:53:49 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street shook off a mixed start and gained ground Friday after data suggested the U.S. job market is still warm enough to keep the economy growing but maybe not so hot that it stokes inflation much higher.The S&P 500 rose 0.5% in afternoon trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 76 points, or 0.2%, at 33,999, as of 12:43 p.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.8% higher.A lot is riding on whether the economy can navigate the narrow pathway to avoid a long-predicted recession. It needs to keep growing despite much higher interest rates instituted by the Federal Reserve to bring down inflation. But it can’t grow so quickly that the Fed feels pressure to brake much harder on the economy to prevent inflation from spiraling higher.Friday’s report showed U.S. employers added 209,000 jobs last month, a slowdown from May’s hiring of 306,000. Perhaps more importantly, it wasn’t far off economists’ expectations. That’s unlike a report from Thursday, wh...

Police investigating east end shooting, 1 victim found

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:53:49 GMT

Toronto Police are on the scene of a shooting in Leslieville that injured one person on Friday afternoon. Officers were called to the Queen Street East and Carlaw Avenue area at around 12:23 p.m. for reports of shots fired. One victim was found in the area with undisclosed injuries. No further details were immediately available. More to come

Israeli forces kill 3 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, days after major offensive

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:53:49 GMT

NABLUS, West Bank (AP) — Israeli forces killed three Palestinians, including two militants, in the occupied West Bank Friday, days after Israel concluded a major two-day offensive meant to crack down on militants. The persistent violence raised questions about the effectiveness of the raid earlier this week in the Jenin refugee camp, which saw Israel launch rare airstrikes on militant targets, deploy hundreds of troops and cause widespread damage to roads, homes and businesses. Twelve Palestinians and one Israeli soldier were killed in the operation.In the nearby city of Nablus, the West Bank’s commercial capital and a flashpoint city, two militants were killed in a gunbattle with Israeli forces. Israel’s Shin Bet security agency said the men were behind a shooting attack this week on a police vehicle.Later Friday, Palestinian health officials said a man was fatally shot in the chest by Israeli forces during a demonstration in Umm Safa, a town in the central West Bank. T...

UN nuclear agency seeks more access to the plant that Kyiv and Moscow say is under threat

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:53:49 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — The head of the United Nations nuclear agency said Friday he was pushing for access to the rooftops of reactors at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine, where Ukrainian officials accused Russia of planting explosives.Russia in turn accused Ukraine of planning to sabotage the plant. Neither side has provided any evidence for their claims of an imminent threat.The plant was seized by Russia in March 2022, in the first weeks of the war in Ukraine, raising fears of a nuclear accident. The Russians have cited security concerns in granting only limited access to officials from the International Atomic Energy Agency.Wrapping up a four-day visit to Japan, IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi told The Associated Press that the IAEA had recently gained access to more of the site, including the cooling pond and fuel storage areas.The Ukrainians had said those areas were mined by the Russians, but the IAEA found they were not, Grossi said.“It’s like a ...

Authorities charge 5 more in probe of child sexual abuse among Jehovah’s Witnesses in Pennsylvania

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:53:49 GMT

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A Pennsylvania grand jury investigating child sexual abuse in the Jehovah’s Witnesses community has charged another five people with raping or molesting children as young as 4, the latest developments in an ongoing probe that has identified 14 suspects.Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle Henry, at a Friday news conference, said that while the misconduct dates back years or even decades, “the trauma endures for these victims.” Henry did not address the church’s handling of complaints, but said the investigation would continue.Critics say that Jehovah’s Witnesses elders have treated child sexual abuse as a sin rather than a crime, documenting complaints in internal files but not reporting them to authorities. And they say the church often required a second witness to substantiate a complaint, a standard that can be impossible to meet when perpetrators often isolate their victims. Church spokesman Jarrod Lopes has challenged those conclusions, saying that e...