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Von der Leyen’s non-campaign kicks off

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:51 GMT

BRUSSELS — Make no mistake about it: Ursula von der Leyen’s State of the European Union speech is the kickoff of her campaign to lead the next European Commission. On Wednesday, von der Leyen will bask in the trappings of incumbency in the Strasbourg Parliament hemicycle when she delivers her annual address. She’s already been boasting that her Commission has implemented 92 percent of its pledges. Yet the reality is that her topsy-turvy coalition of frenemies could easily crumble.An accidental Commission president who lucked into the job through rounds of horse-trading, von der Leyen has been mum on her plans about running for real this time. But no one really believes she’s ruled it out, and she now has less than a year before the next European election to convince power brokers on both the left and the right that sticking with her is better than gambling on an alternative who might be a better ideological fit.“There will be different ears from different political famili...

First responders rescue residents at flooded Leominster mobile home community

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:51 GMT

First responders were seen pulling people to safety on rafts at a mobile home community in Leominster Monday night as crews made rescues around the city amid severe flooding.Floodwaters rose through the Meadowbrook Acres community after officials said rain started falling on the area around 4:15 p.m. Around 10 p.m., crews could be seen going door-to-door and working to rescue residents. Many of the residents at Meadowbrook Acres appeared to be older people. Some people were able to get out on their own and were seen carrying belongings toward dry land. Others needed to be helped using inflatable yellow rafts, with emergency crews pulling the rafts through the water. First responders were seen rescuing at least one dog Monday night.Leominster Mayor Dean Mazzarella said several people needed rescues in multiple spots around the city after flooding started. A state of emergency was in effect for Leominster Monday night and a larger flash flood emergency was dec...

Chinatown stabbing suspect was on day release after killing daughter in 2006

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:51 GMT

VANCOUVER — Carol Lee, chairwoman of the Vancouver Chinatown Foundation, says the neighbourhood is all about resilience.But Lee broke down in tears as she described the impact of a triple stabbing at a festival on Sunday that had been intended to “bring the community together to celebrate the progress” made in a neighbourhood where crime, street disorder and economic decay have been concerns. “(We) thought things were normal, but it’s a good reminder that there are a lot of things that are in play in Chinatown,” said Lee, whose group co-organizes the annual Light Up Chinatown! festival.Lee was speaking at a news conference on Monday with Vancouver Police Chief Adam Palmer, who said the 64-year-old suspect had been on release during the day from a forensic psychiatric hospital.A B.C. Supreme Court decision from January 2008 shows the same man was found not criminally responsible due to mental disorder in the stabbing death of his 16-year-old-daugher in K...

California fast food and health care workers poised to win major salary increases

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:51 GMT

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Nearly 1 million California workers are poised to win major salary increases after labor unions flexed their collective muscle in the state’s Democratic-led Legislature on Monday following a summer of high-profile strikes in the entertainment and hospitality industries.Most of the state’s 500,000 fast food workers would be paid at least $20 per hour next year under a new bill aimed at ending a standoff between the industry and labor unions over wages and working conditions. About 455,000 health care workers — not doctors and nurses, but the people who do everything else at hospitals, dialysis clinics and other facilities — will see their salaries rise to at least $25 per hour over the next 10 years in a separate bill.Both proposals must first pass the state Legislature and be signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom. But the proposals have the blessing of both labor unions and industry groups, clearing the path for passage this week before lawmakers...

Ukraine claims to recapture Black Sea oil platforms seized during Crimea’s annexation

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:51 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The Ukrainian military said Monday that it recaptured strategic gas and oil drilling platforms from Russia in the Black Sea and claimed gains in occupied areas near Bakhmut, a city in eastern Ukraine left in ruins after the war’s longest and deadliest fighting. The recapture of the so-called Boyko Towers platforms provides an energy source and takes back an asset that Russia seized in 2015 and used to launch helicopters, Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense said.“Russia has been deprived of the ability to fully control the waters of the Black Sea, and this makes Ukraine many steps closer to regaining Crimea,” the Main Intelligence Directorate said.The Russian Defense Ministry didn’t make any immediate comment on the Ukrainian claim, but it has previously reported that Russian warplanes destroyed several Ukrainian speedboats in the area.Russian military bloggers posted that the platforms had been uninhabited for more than a year and a Ukrainian operation to ...

Over 100 VIPs attend UN screening of documentary on Russia’s siege of Ukrainian city of Mariupol

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:51 GMT

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — More than a hundred ambassadors, journalists and representatives of a broad spectrum of society watched a U.N. screening Monday evening of the award-winning documentary “20 Days in Mariupol,” which follows a trio of Associated Press journalists during Russia’s relentless siege of the Ukrainian port city in the early days of the war.U.K. Ambassador Barbara Woodward, who co-hosted the screening, said the film is important because “Russia’s invasion of Ukraine threatens what the U.N. stands for: an international order where the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries is fundamental.”“We want to reaffirm our commitment to U.N. values, and that’s why we’ve chosen to show this very important documentary,” she said in welcoming the the audience at U.N. headquarters in New York.The screening comes at the start of the 78th session of the U.N. General Assembly and a week before world leaders arrive for their annual meeting, where the more than 18-month war...

Kim Jong Un heads to Russia. What do Pyongyang and Moscow want from each other?

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:51 GMT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un arrived in Russia on Tuesday for a meeting with President Vladimir Putin that is likely to focus on Russia’s desire to buy ammunition to refill reserves drained by its war in Ukraine. The meeting will also underscore deepening cooperation as the two isolated leaders are locked in separate confrontations with the U.S. In return for providing ammunition, North Korea will likely want shipments of food and energy and transfers of sophisticated weapons technologies.A meeting with Putin would be Kim’s first with a foreign leader since North Korea closed its borders in January 2020. They met for the first time in April 2019, two months after Kim’s high-stakes nuclear diplomacy with then-U.S. President Donald Trump collapsed.Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu traveled to Pyongyang, North Korea’s capital, in July and asked Kim to send more ammunition to Russia, according to U.S. officials. Shoigu said Moscow and Pyongyang were con...

Wisconsin man dies while competing in Ironman triathlon

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:51 GMT

CROSS PLAINS, Wis. (WFRV) - A Wisconsin man competing in Ironman Wisconsin died during the bike portion of the course on Sunday, officials confirmed.According to a Facebook post from Ironman Wisconsin, a race staff member and an off-duty police officer noticed the man in need of support while on the bike portion of the course.They provided immediate medical attention before emergency services transported the athlete to a local hospital, where he later died.The Dane County Sheriff's Office said the 51-year-old Madison man had suffered “a medical event” in the town of Cross Plains. It wasn't immediately clear what that medical event was as of Monday night. ‘My heart’s gone’: Family loses mom to catastrophic childbirth complication “We share our deepest condolences with the family and friends of the athlete and will continue to offer them our support as they go through what is a very difficult time,” Ironman Wisconsin said on its Facebook page.The full 140.6-mile Ironman included a 2...

US clears way for deal with Iran to release 5 detained Americans

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:51 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration has cleared the way for the release of five American citizens detained in Iran by issuing a blanket waiver for international banks to transfer $6 billion in frozen Iranian money from South Korea to Qatar without fear of U.S. sanctions. In addition, as part of the deal, the administration has agreed to release five Iranian citizens held in the United States.Secretary of State Antony Blinken signed off on the sanctions waivers late last week, a month after U.S. and Iranian officials said an agreement in principle was in place. Congress was not informed of the waiver decision until Monday, according to the notification, which was obtained by The Associated Press.The outlines of the deal had been previously announced and the waiver was expected. But the notification marked the first time the administration said it was releasing five Iranian prisoners as part of the deal. The prisoners have not been named.The waiver drew criticism of P...

Cooler, early October-level temps follow the heaviest rainfall in a month

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:51 GMT

But, a gradual warm-up arrives later this week, pushing temps close to 80 degrees. Powerful Hurricane Lee threatens to impact parts of Bermuda before heading north toward the Northeast U.S. by the coming weekend.CLOUDY, SHOWERY MUCH COOLER DAY COMPARED TO SUMMERLIKE 83 DEGREES ON SUNDAYOFFICIALLY, IT WAS THE HEAVIEST TOTAL AT O'HARE IN 4 WEEKS, SINCE 0.80" FELL ON AUGUST 14 UNSEASONABLY COOL START TO THE WEEK WITH HIGH TEMPERATURES 10+ DEGREES BELOW NORMAL BUT WARMER WEATHER RETURNS LATER THIS WEEK AS READINGS NUDGE SLIGHTLY ABOVE NORMAL  “COOLER” WEATHER WILL DOMINATE THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYSBut, indications of a warmer than normal weather pattern is taking shape for much of the U.S. in the September 19-25 period, except for sections of the southwestBRIEF PERIOD OF “FULL FETCH” NORTHERLY WINDS RUNNING DOWN THE LENGTH OF LAKE MICHIGAN TO PRODUCE HIGH WAVES AND DANGEROUS SWIMMING CONDITIONS FOR ILLINOIS/NW INDIANA BEACHESBeach hazards statement in effect from Tuesday morning thro...