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US, Filipino forces show firepower at sea amid China tension

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:54 GMT

SAN ANTONIO, Philippines (AP) — American and Filipino forces sank a ship with a barrage of high-precision rockets, airstrikes and artillery fire in their largest war drills on Wednesday in Philippine waters facing the disputed South China Sea which are likely to antagonize China.President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. watched the American show of firepower from an observation tower in the coastal town of San Antonio in northwestern Zambales province, the latest indication of his strong backing of the Philippines’ treaty alliance with the U.S. Marcos has ordered his military to shift its focus to external defense from decades-long domestic anti-insurgency battles as China’s increasingly aggressive actions in the South China Sea become a top concern. The shift in the Philippine defense focus is in sync with the Biden administration’s aim of reinforcing an arc of alliances in the Indo-Pacific region to better counter China.China has angered the Philippines by repeatedly harassing its navy...

Chernobyl anniversary rouses specter of Ukraine nuke threat

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:54 GMT

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday used the 37th anniversary of the world’s worst nuclear disaster to repeat his warnings about the potential threat of a new atomic catastrophe in Ukraine amid his country’s war with Russia.Zelenskyy drew a parallel between the Chernobyl nuclear disaster on April 26, 1986, to Moscow’s brief seizure of the plant and its radiation-contaminated exclusion zone following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.“Last year, the occupier not only seized the (Chernobyl) nuclear power plant, but also endangered the entire world again,” Zelenskyy said in a Telegram post in English.Russian forces were stationed at the Chernobyl plant between February and March last year, before it was recaptured by Ukrainian troops. Zelenskyy said Kyiv has since then reestablished prewar security measures and scientific activities within the zone. But he cautioned that future moves from Moscow could endanger global nuclear safety.“Ukraine and the world have pa...

Downtown construction work on Lake Shore to impact drivers for two weeks

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:54 GMT

An already painfully slow rush hour drive through downtown Toronto is about to get even slower.Gas pipeline replacement work will shut down a portion of Lake Shore Boulevard near Rogers Centre starting Wednesday morning, coinciding with a large number of Toronto sports fans flocking to the area over the next couple of days.The work by Enbridge Gas will close two westbound lanes of Lake Shore approaching Rees Street from 7 a.m. Wednesday to 5 a.m. Saturday.The lane closures come just in time for a Wednesday afternoon baseball game at Rogers Centre between the Toronto Blue Jays and Chicago White Sox. The area is expected to again see higher than usual levels of traffic volume on Thursday night when the Toronto Maple Leafs play Game 5 of their first-round playoff series.The city says there will be traffic agents deployed to the area during construction who will monitor congestion. City staff will then implement any “necessary signal timing modifications required to reduce delays ...

German court: naked landlord doesn’t justify lower rent

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:54 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — A German court said Wednesday that a landlord sunbathing naked in the courtyard of his building wasn’t a reason for his tenants to reduce their rental payments.The case involved a building in an upmarket residential district of Frankfurt, which included an office floor, rented by a human resources company. The company withheld rent because it objected, among other things, to the landlord’s naked sunbathing. In response, the landlord sued.The Frankfurt state court rejected the company’s reasoning, finding that “the usability of the rented property was not impaired by the plaintiff sunning himself naked in the courtyard.”It said in a statement that it couldn’t see an “inadmissible, deliberately improper effect on the property.”Judges were ruling on an appeal against a lower court decision that went in the landlord’s favor, and the tenant had only limited success overall. They found that the tenant had been entitled to reduce rental payments ...

Black parents seek schools affirming their history amid bans

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:54 GMT

DECATUR, Ga. (AP) — Every decision Assata Salim makes for her young son is important. Amid a spike in mass killings, questions of safety were at the top of her mind when choosing a school. Next on her checklist was the school’s culture.Salim and her 6-year-old, Cho’Zen Waters, are Black. In Georgia, where they live, public schools are prohibited from teaching divisive concepts, including the idea that one race is better than another or that states are fundamentally racist.To Salim, the new rules mean public schools might not affirm Cho’Zen’s African roots, or accurately portray the United States’ history of racism. “I never want to put his education in the hands of someone that is trying to erase history or recreate narratives,” she said. Instead, Cho’Zen attends a private, Afrocentric school — joining kids across the country whose families have embraced schools that affirm their Black heritage, in a country where instruction about race is increasingly under attack. At Cho’Zen’s sch...

Teck Resources reports Q1 profit down from year ago ahead of key shareholder vote

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:54 GMT

VANCOUVER — Teck Resources Ltd. reported its first-quarter profit fell compared with a year ago, ahead of a key shareholder vote Wednesday on its plan to split the company’s metals and steelmaking coal businesses into two separate companies.The mining company, which is facing an unsolicited takeover attempt by Swiss commodities trader Glencore, says its profit attributable to shareholders totalled $1.14 billion or $2.18 per diluted share for the quarter ended March 31, down from $1.57 billion or $2.87 per diluted share a year earlier.Revenue totalled $3.79 billion, down from $4.62 billion.On an adjusted basis, Teck says it earned $1.78 per diluted share in its latest quarter, down from an adjusted profit of $2.96 per diluted share in the same quarter last year.The financial results came ahead of a critical moment for the Vancouver-based company.Glencore is urging shareholders to reject the company’s proposal in favour of its offer to acquire the company, and has said it ...

Woman carjacked at gunpoint by 5 men in Lincoln Park: police

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:54 GMT

CHICAGO — Chicago police are searching for five men who carjacked a woman at gunpoint in the city's Lincoln Park neighborhood.The incident happened around 9:10 p.m. Tuesday in the 1100 block of West Wrightwood. Police said a 25-year-old woman was parking her vehicle when five men exited a black SUV and forced her out of the car at gunpoint.The men then fled and took the woman's 2023 Chevy Malibu. The woman was not injured. Mexican authorities find 8 bodies in Cancun According to police, the vehicle was recovered unoccupied in the area of Southport and Diversey.No one is in custody. Area Three detectives are investigating.

Wednesday Forecast: Temps in low 50s with mostly sunny conditions

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:54 GMT

CHICAGO — Cool conditions with mostly sunny skies Wednesday, colder lakeside. Winds: NE 5-10. High: 51/45. Interactive Radar: Track showers and storm here Mostly clear tonight with patchy frost. Winds: SSE 0-5 mph. Low: 37.Thursday Forecast: Mostly sunny Thursday with increasing clouds and cooler lakeside. Winds: SSE 5-10 G15. High: 65/57.Full forecast details at the WGN Weather Center

Transgender lawmaker in Montana faces censure or expulsion

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:54 GMT

HELENA, Mont. (AP) — Montana Republican leaders will vote Wednesday on censuring or expelling lawmaker Zooey Zephyr, a transgender state representative who has been silenced in the House since last week after telling colleagues that if they voted for a bill to ban gender-affirming medical care for transgender children they would “have blood on their hands.”On Tuesday night, Zephyr tweeted a letter she received from House leaders informing her of the plan to consider disciplinary action against her during Wednesday's session.“I’ve also been told I’ll get a chance to speak," Zephyr tweeted. "I will do as I have always done — rise on behalf of my constituents, in defense of my community and for democracy itself.”Montana’s House speaker canceled Tuesday's floor session without explanation, the latest development in a standoff over whether Montana Republicans will let the lawmaker from Missoula speak unless she apologizes for her remarks last week on a gender-affirming care ban...

Overnight severe weather threat brings hail, wind risk

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:54 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Our next threat of severe weather arrives tonight, not much more than 24 hours after yesterday's severe storms.Tonight's severe storms risk comes along an incoming cold front diving in from the north. The highest risk currently appears to be in our northern tier of counties, where hail, wind damage and an isolated tornado will be possible.Slight risk (2 out of 5) of severe storms in northern counties late Wednesday night into early ThursdayAll severe modes will be possible with initial development (8PM-12AM) before primarily turning more into a wind concern as the line progress further south.Primary concerns Wednesday night will be large hail and damaging windsA few storms may linger early Thursday morning before clearing by early afternoon. Dry skies and comfortable temperatures will briefly fill in late Thursday through midday Friday before our next risk of severe weather arrives. Saturday night storms bring tennis ball size hail to Hill Country A separate stor...