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Sabotage attempts reported at polling stations in occupied Ukraine as Russia holds local elections

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:53:12 GMT

Russian authorities on Sunday reported multiple attempts to sabotage voting in local elections taking place in occupied areas of Ukraine.Votes are taking place this weekend in 79 regions of Russia, with ballots for governors, regional legislatures, city and municipal councils, as well as in the four Ukrainian regions Moscow annexed illegally last year — the Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia provinces — and on the Crimean peninsula, which the Kremlin annexed in 2014. Balloting in the occupied areas of Ukraine has been denounced by Kyiv and the West as a sham and a violation of international law.Russian electoral officials on Sunday reported attempts to sabotage voting in the occupied regions, where guerrilla forces loyal to Kyiv had previously killed pro-Moscow officials, blown up bridges and helped the Ukrainian military by identifying key targets. A drone strike in the early hours of Sunday destroyed one polling station in the Zaporizhzhia province, deputy chairman of Russ...

Presidents Biden, Obama, Clinton congratulate Coco Gauff on her US Open tennis title

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:53:12 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Former President Barack Obama congratulated Coco Gauff on her U.S. Open title Saturday, less than two weeks after attending her first comeback of the tournament.After Gauff rallied to beat Aryna Sabalenka 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, messages quickly poured onto the social media platform formerly known as Twitter in celebration of the 19-year-old American’s first Grand Slam title. “We couldn’t be prouder of you on and off the court — and we know the best is yet to come,” Barack Obama wrote.Obama and his wife, Michelle, were in Arthur Ashe Stadium on opening night, when Gauff rallied for a 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 win over Laura Siegemund. They met with her after the match, which was followed by a tribute to Billie Jean King as part of a celebration of the 50th anniversary of the U.S. Open becoming the first sporting event to offer equal prize money to female and male champions.Michelle Obama also sent congratulations with a picture of their meeting, while Clinton wrote: “The future of ...

Delta Air Lines employees work up a sweat at boot camp, learning how to deice planes

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:53:12 GMT

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Delta Air Lines has learned that summer is a good time to prepare for winter — and how to deice planes so they can keep flying safely in freezing temperatures.Every summer, Delta brings about 400 workers to Minneapolis to a three-day “summer deice boot camp.” They go through computer-based training, watch demonstrations by instructors, and then practice spraying down a plane — using water instead of the chemicals found in deicing fluid.The boot campers, who rotate through in groups of 10 or so, return to their home bases and train 6,000 co-workers before October, says Jeannine Ashworth, vice president of airport operations for the Atlanta-based airline.Here’s how the deicing process works: Big trucks with tanks of deicing mixture pull up alongside a plane, and an operator in a bucket at the top of a long boom sprays hot fluid that melts ice but doesn’t refreeze because of the chemicals it contains, mainly propylene glycol.It takes anywhere from a few m...

Trudeau wanted stronger condemnation of Russia from G20 leaders

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:53:12 GMT

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says if it were up to him, the G20 leaders’ declaration on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine would have been much stronger.At a closing summit news conference, Trudeau said Sunday that if other leaders had their way, the declaration would have been much weaker.He called the G20 an “extremely disparate group,” adding representatives worked very hard “to get as strong language as we possibly could.”Global economic leaders agreed on a final declaration at the G20 summit, but the language surrounding Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has softened since the leaders last met.The consensus statement from this year’s summit in India was posted by the host country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Saturday, a day before the summit’s conclusion.It calls for the cessation of military destruction or other attacks on relevant infrastructure, as the violence is affecting food and energy security as well as supply chain...

Bears Sunday Forecast: Increasing clouds, high near 80

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:53:12 GMT

Sunday:  Increasing clouds, slight chance of a few showers. WSW/ESE 5-10 mph. Air quality is in the Moderate category. High near 80, cooler lakesideSunday Night: Mostly cloudy & chance of showers-- especially after midnight. ESE/S 5-10 mph. Low 62Chicago Weather | Tom Skilling and the WGN Weather Center's Forecast (wgntv.com)Monday: Rain at times & slight chance of an isolated thunderstorms. SSW 5-10 mph. High:69Chicago Area Radar | WGN TVExtended outlook calls for lingering showers on Tuesday with highs in the upper 60s. A bit cooler on Wednesday but the sun comes back. Highs in the mid 60s. Sunshine for the remainder of the week with highs in the comfortable mid to low 70s. 

France's education minister bans long robes in classrooms. They're worn mainly by Muslims

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:53:12 GMT

PARIS (AP) — France’s education minister announced Monday a ban on long robes in classrooms starting with the new school year, saying the garments worn mainly by Muslims are testing secularism in the nation’s schools.Critics say that abayas, worn by women, and khamis, the male garb, are no more than a fashion statement. They say the garments do not constitute an ostentatious sign of religion and should not be banned from classrooms under a 2004 law.For Gabriel Attal, the recently appointed education chief, the garments are “an infringement on secularism,” a foundational principle for France, and, in some cases, a bid to destabilize schools.The 34-year-old Attal, appointed in July, was potentially moving into a minefield with his ban on long robes to “protect” secularism, prompted by growing reports of the garments in some classrooms around the country. Previous statements and laws on secularism have seeded acrimonious debate.“Our schools are continually tested. We know tha...

Can I use my expired COVID-19 test? Here's how to know

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:53:12 GMT

(NEXSTAR) – After stocking up on free COVID-19 tests from the government before the program was suspended in June, some people may be wondering if they can still get accurate results if their swab kits have expired.If you've recently rummaged for an old test after experiencing a cough or runny nose, you're not alone. U.S. hospitalizations due to COVID-19 have been rising steadily since early July, including a 15% jump over the past week, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data. But is it safe to use a COVID-19 test that is past the expiration? The answer, it turns out, depends on what brand of test you have. How big will Facebook settlement checks be? Lawyers reveal estimated payment per person The FDA has extended that date for a number of different at-home COVID-19 tests. The expiration date for multiple lots of BinaxNow COVID-19 antigen tests that were sold at CVS, for example, is now 10 months later than the printed date.In January, BinaxNow manufacturer A...

Map: How long until fall colors peak in Chicago?

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:53:12 GMT

(NEXSTAR) — It’s clear that fall is nearly upon us. Labor Day has passed, pumpkin spice everything is back, and we’re losing daylight. The only shoe left to drop are the leaves. For some, the leaves may have already started changing color. For others, it won’t be long until the trees combust into reds, yellows, oranges, and browns. In just a few weeks, some parts of the country will be seeing peak fall colors, according to a new prediction map.  How soon until daylight saving time ends? SmokyMountains.com, a travel brand dedicated to promoting the Smoky Mountain region, produces a fall foliage map every year, show when areas in the U.S. will near, reach, and surpass peak colors. They use historical temperature and precipitation data, forecasted temperature and precipitation, the types of trees known to be in the area, and user-reported information to develop their fall foliage forecast. While it may not be completely accurate, it does offer insight into how soon the...

American reaches 700-meter mark as Turkey cave rescue continues

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:53:12 GMT

TASELI PLATEAU, Turkey (AP) — Rescue teams on Sunday in Turkey successfully carried an American researcher up from the depth of a cave at 1,040 meters (3,410 feet) to the 700-meter (2,297 feet) mark where he will rest at a base camp before they continue the taxing journey to the surface.An experienced caver, Mark Dickey, 40, started vomiting on Sept. 2 because of stomach bleeding while on an expedition with a handful of others in the Morca cave in southern Turkey’s Taurus Mountains, one of the deepest in the world, according to experts.A rescue operation began Saturday afternoon with doctors, paramedics and experienced cavers from across Europe rushing to help. They set up small medical base camps at various levels along the shaft, providing Dickey an opportunity to rest during the slow and arduous extrication. 7-year-old finds 2.95-carat diamond at Arkansas Crater of Diamonds park “Mark was delivered to the campsite at -700 meters as of 03:24 local time (GMT+3). At this stage, he...

Hurricane Lee charges through open waters, unleashes heavy swell on northern Caribbean

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:53:12 GMT

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Hurricane Lee barreled Sunday through open waters just northeast of the Caribbean, unleashing heavy swell on several islands.The Category 2 storm is not forecast to make landfall and is expected to stay over open waters through Friday. On Sunday morning, it was centered about 280 miles northeast of the northern Leeward Islands. Its maximum sustained winds had decreased to 105 mph and it was moving west-northwest at 9 mph.Last week, Lee strengthened from a Category 1 storm to a Category 5 storm in just one day.“We had the perfect conditions for a hurricane: warm waters and hardly any wind shear,” said Lee Ingles, a forecaster with the National Weather Service in San Juan.Lee is expected to regain some strength in the upcoming days and will then weaken again, according to the National Hurricane Center. Could Hurricane Lee impact the US? Breaking waves of up to 20 feet were forecast for Puerto Rico and nearby islands starting early this week, with au...