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EU commissioner nominated to lead Bulgaria’s next government

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:01:54 GMT

SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) — A European Union commissioner from Bulgaria was nominated Wednesday for the post of prime minister, as the Balkan country struggles to end a two-year period of political instability and economic hardship.Maria Gabriel was tipped on Wednesday by the center-right GERB party — the winner of the parliamentary election last month — to receive a mandate from the country’s president to nominate a Cabinet, which needs to be approved by a majority in parliament.President Rumen Radev has announced that he would give the mandate on Monday.Gabriel, 43, a member of the European Parliament since 2009, is EU commissioner for innovation, research, culture, education and youth. She is also the first vice chair of the European People’s Party.The EPP’s leader, Manfred Weber, tweeted Wednesday that Gabriel “has the experience and international authority to overcome the political stalemate in Sofia,” regarding the formation of a government.In Sofia, GERB leader Boyko Borisso...

Pedestrian bridge linking Crystal City and Reagan National Airport set to move forward

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:01:54 GMT

Rndering of the proposed bridge that would link a future VRE station in Crystal City to Terminal 2 at Ronald Reagan National Airport. (Courtesy Arlington County)The plan for a pedestrian bridge that would create a direct five-minute-walk between Crystal City, in Arlington, Virginia, and Ronald Reagan National Airport is expected to take a big step forward this weekend.The Arlington Board is set to endorse plans to build a girder-style bridge that would connect the entrance of a future Virginia Railway Express station at 2011 Crystal Drive to DCA’s Terminal 2, tying in with the Mount Vernon Trail, and crossing over the George Washington Parkway, to provided a straight-shot for pedestrians, bicyclists and micro-mobility users.The bridge coincides with the still-developing National Landing, which will soon open the first part of Amazon’s second headquarters.Last year, the county trumpeted that the new bridge “would make National Landing the only downtown in the countr...

French expert in Russian history wins Spanish award

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:01:54 GMT

MADRID (AP) — Ninety-three-year-old French historian Hélène Carrère d’Encausse, an eminence in Russian and Central Asian history, has won Spain’s Princess of Asturias Award for Social Sciences, prize organizers said Wednesday.The awards foundation said Carrère d’Encausse was “one of the most brilliant, original and distinguished personalities of French historiography and contemporary European thought.”In a note, the panel of judges added that her work “probably constitutes the greatest substantive contribution that has been made in recent decades to the knowledge of the Soviet Union and Russia, one of the essential issues for understanding the contemporary world.”Born Hélène Zourabichvili in Paris on July 6, 1929, of a Georgian father and a mother of Russian-German origin, Carrère d’Encausse grew up in an emigrant family with aristocratic ancestors from which she learned the Russian history, literature and language. She later opted for French nationalit...

SK Telecom: Q1 Earnings Snapshot

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:01:54 GMT

SEOUL, Korea, Republic Of (AP) — SEOUL, Korea, Republic Of (AP) — SK Telecom Co. (SKM) on Wednesday reported net income of $227.8 million in its first quarter.On a per-share basis, the Seoul, Korea, Republic Of-based company said it had net income of 11 cents.The telecommunications company posted revenue of $3.43 billion in the period._____This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on SKM at https://www.zacks.com/ap/SKMSource

Norfolk Southern to pay homeowners near Ohio derailment

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:01:54 GMT

Norfolk Southern has recommitted to creating a fund for residents near the site of an Ohio train wreck that would cover any decline in home values since before the derailment earlier this year.In early February, 38 cars derailed in East Palestine, 11 carrying hazardous chemicals, with some spilling into nearby waterways. The U.S., the state of Ohio and residents near the crash have all filed lawsuits against Norfolk Southern over the derailment. Half of the 5,000 residents of East Palestine were evacuated as emergency personnel burned off some of the chemicals to avert an uncontrolled explosion.Norfolk Southern Corp. CEO Alan Shaw apologized for the impact the derailment has had on the community and the company has pledged to pay for the cleanup.Shaw said in a letter late Tuesday to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation that while the company has total accrued charges of almost $400 million for the derailment, that amount doesn’t include expected costs f...

Spain plans to ban outdoor work in extreme heat

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:01:54 GMT

MADRID (AP) — Spain says it plans to ban outdoor work during periods of extreme heat.Second Deputy Prime Minister Yolanda Díaz told reporters Wednesday that the government will modify legislation covering occupational risks to prohibit outdoor work when the state weather agency, AEMET, issues red or orange alerts. The agency frequently issues such alerts when temperature increases pose a risk for citizens outdoors or for the environment. Last year was Spain’s hottest since record-keeping started in 1961, and last month was the hottest and driest April on record. Much of the country is experiencing drought, and water reserves are below 50%. Díaz, who is also labor minister, said that the modifications would be announced by Spain’s Cabinet, but gave no further details.The government will hold a special Cabinet meeting on drought measures on Thursday.It wasn’t immediately clear how the measure announced by Díaz would apply to workers such as farmers, farmhands, police, firefighte...

Photos show flooding in Milliken

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:01:54 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- Severe weather moved through parts of Colorado on Tuesday, bringing hail to some areas and flooding to others.More severe weather is possible on Wednesday. The Pinpoint Weather team has issued a Pinpoint Weather Alert Day due to the threat for severe weather across the Denver metro area and Eastern Plains. Worst floods in Colorado history Some of the flooding from Tuesday was reported in Milliken. Todd Gabriel shared these photos with FOX31:Flooding in Milliken (Credit: Todd A Gabriel)Flooding in Milliken (Credit: Todd A Gabriel)Flooding in Milliken (Credit: Todd A Gabriel)Flood watchThe National Weather Service has issued a flood watch from 6 a.m. Thursday to 9 a.m. Friday for portions of north central and northeast Colorado.According to the NWS, excessive runoff may result in flooding of rivers, creeks, streams, and other low-lying and flood-prone areas in Boulder, Jackson, Larimer, Morgan and Weld counties.Where to see weather alertsIf a sev...

6 years ago, this storm cost $2.3B worth of damage

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:01:54 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — Colorado's most expensive insured catastrophe happened on May 8, 2017. It was a hailstorm that impacted parts of northwest metro Denver. It was estimated that this storm caused $2.3 billion worth of damage and was the second-costliest storm on record in the U.S. Is it legal to collect rainwater in Colorado? The hailstorm formed around strong thunderstorms that developed on the afternoon of May 8. The largest hail measured was up to the size of a baseball. The biggest impacts were on the northwest side of metro Denver through Lakewood, Arvada, and Wheat Ridge. There was so much hail in some places that roads shut down and storm drains were clogged.

Report: Fire departments lack funding, personnel

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:01:54 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — The Colorado Fire Service released its annual 2022 Colorado Fire Service Needs Assessment report detailing its lack of funding for personnel and equipment.More than 70% of all fire departments statewide participated.The report included several takeaways including the fact that it needs to hire thousands of firefighters to its teams within the next two years. Specifically, the fire service needs 1,085 career and 1,327 volunteer firefighters. Hail storm hits the Front Range Next, it needs to replace 590 apparatus and buy 286 new ones. Apparatus are expensive vehicles like engines, ambulances, and hazmat trucks among others.Then, the department needs to meet equipment needs like Personal Protective Equipment. This requires spending $40,794,000. Most departments said they don’t have the funding to keep up with this demand for necessary improvements to their stations.A majority of fire departments are funded through property taxes. They reported an expected decrease in ...

These are the best school districts in Colorado for teachers

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:01:54 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — If you're a teacher in Colorado, you're best off in the Cherry Creek School District.May 8-12 is National Teacher Appreciation Week as well as National Nurses Week. Though it is one of the most expensive places in the U.S. to call home, Colorado also has a relatively poor pay scale for teachers. The average pay for Colorado teachers is in line with the rest of the country but starting pay for teachers is some of the nation's lowest as of 2021 data.FOX31's Data Desk analyzed the Colorado Department of Education's data to find which school districts offer the best working environment for teachers. This analysis consists of the average rankings for two items - average teacher salary and teacher turnover among nearly 200 districts. The analysis did not include Boards of Cooperative Educational Services districts. Teacher appreciation? More governors say try better pay Cherry Creek schools ranked first on the list with the state's second-highest average salary and the 2...