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Japan’s Fukushima nuclear plant prepares to release diluted radioactive water into the sea

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:12:43 GMT

FUTABA, Japan (AP) — At Japan’s tsunami-wrecked Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, giant blue pipes have been constructed to bring in torrents of seawater to dilute treated, radioactive water under a plan to discharge it gradually into the Pacific Ocean.Workers were making final preparations as Associated Press journalists received a rare opportunity Friday to get a look at key equipment and facilities for the release, expected in coming weeks or months.The International Atomic Energy Agency has looked at Japan’s wastewater-release plan and said it would cause negligible radioactivity in the sea and no effect on neighboring countries. But the plans continue to draw strong protest and no starting date has been set. Japan’s fishing industry fears it will destroy the reputation of the country’s seafood, and groups in South Korea and China also have raised concerns. Hong Kong announced Wednesday it would ban seafood imports from 10 Japanese prefectures once the release begins, and B...

Cypriot official says probe backs Mossad claims that hitman plotted to kill Israelis on the island

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:12:43 GMT

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Cyprus police investigations support claims by Israel’s Mossad spy service that an Iranian-backed hit squad planned to kill Israelis and other Jews in the east Mediterranean island nation, an official said Friday.The intelligence official told The Associated Press that Cypriot police had tracked an Iranian national identified as Yusef Shahabazi Abbasalilu following information from “friendly intelligence services.”Subsequent probes into his activities indicated there was a plot for such killings, with at least one person on a hit list, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the investigations. According to the official, Abbasalilu initially attempted to set up base and recruit others in the ethnically divided island’s breakaway Turkish Cypriot north, where its internationally recognized authorities have no access.Cyprus was split in 1974 when Turkey invaded following a coup by supporters of union with Greece. No country recognizes a T...

Kenyan religious leaders urge the president to repeal a new tax law as protests surge

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:12:43 GMT

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Christian and Muslim leaders in Kenya are urging President William Ruto to repeal a finance bill whose new taxes have sparked protests and police killings of civilians, warning that Kenyans face a level of hopelessness that “can easily inspire insurrection.”Friday’s statement by national religious organizations came as the main political opposition group announced the next protest would take place next Wednesday, and as Ruto declared it would not be allowed.Human rights watchdogs have asserted that police killed as many as 10 people in the latest protests this week, while a police official told The Associated Press that officers killed at least six across the country for disturbing businesses. Meanwhile, more than 50 children were sent to a medical clinic after tear gas was thrown into a school in the capital, Nairobi.“Firearms should never be used to disperse protests,” the United Nations human rights office said Friday. It urged Kenyan authorities to ensure t...

S&P/TSX composite edges higher, U.S. stock markets also rise

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:12:43 GMT

TORONTO — Canada’s main stock index edged higher as gains in the financial and industrial sectors were offset by losses in the telecom, energy and base metal stocks in late-morning trading.The S&P/TSX composite index was up 2.96 points at 20,280.60.In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 93.19 points at 34,488.33. The S&P 500 index was up 8.67 points at 4,518.71, while the Nasdaq composite was up 55.64 points at 14,194.21.The Canadian dollar traded for 75.86 cents US compared with 76.17 on Thursday.The August crude oil contract was down US$1.50 at US$75.39 per barrel and the August natural gas contract was down two cents at US$2.53 per mmBTU.The August gold contract was down 60 cents at US$1,963.20 an ounce and the September copper contract was up less than a penny at US$3.94 a pound.This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 14, 2023.Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD=X)The Canadian Press

Man charged after Mariano's employee shot, killed inside Evergreen Park store: Police

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:12:43 GMT

CHICAGO -- A 21-year-old man has been charged with murder after a Mariano's employee was shot and killed inside an Evergreen Park store Thursday. Armoni Henry has been charged with first degree murder after the fatal shooting of 21-year-old Jailene Flores who police say was his girlfriend. Evergreen Park police responded to calls of an active shooter at the Mariano's store in the 2500 block of 95th Street and found 21-year-old Jailene Flores in the back storage room with multiple gunshot wounds.She was pronounced dead on the scene. Man found fatally stabbed at baseball diamond in Uptown: CPD Evergreen Park Police Chief Michael Saunders said that surveillance video inside the store showed Flores walking away from Henry before the incident took place. Saunders said that officers located Henry after pulling a police report from a previous domestic incident involving the couple when the victim worked at an Amazon store in Oak Lawn. “We got the information for the possible s...

Dwyane Wade will be part of Chicago Sky's ownership group

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:12:43 GMT

CHICAGO — A Chicago native who made his name in basketball in the NBA is now making an investment in his hometown WNBA team. On social media on Friday, Dwyane Wade confirmed that he's joining the Chicago Sky's ownership group in one of his biggest moves since retiring from the game in 2019."It’s an incredible feeling being on this side of history. To see growth, on the business side, for something that I’ve been passionate about my whole life is an amazing feeling. It’s official! This is for the home team– literally. I know the home team will make you feel some type of Wade," said Wade on Twitter on Friday morning, confirming his joining of the ownership group.The Sky responded to that on the social media platform by saying "Welcome HOME, Flash."Growing up in Chicago and then Robbins, Wade first made a name for himself at Richards High School in Oak Lawn. After a strong career at Marquette, where he was named a consensus All-American in the 2002-2003 season, Wade began a 16-year NBA...

Chicago area at risk for severe weather Friday

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:12:43 GMT

The Chicago area is at a 2 on the scale of 1-5 for the risk of severe weather Friday. Showers will move out for awhile Friday and midday sun and humidity will arrive.The sun will help fuel an environment of instability this afternoon with storms set to return around 4 p.m. Interactive Radar: Track showers and storm here The first round of potentially severe weather will last from 4 p.m. to around 9 p.m.A second round of storms is expected to move into the area around 11 p.m.Full forecast details and more at the WGN Weather Center blog Non-severe weather and showers will linger into the morning Saturday with another round of storms likely Saturday afternoon.

Durbin meets with Chicago's Ukrainian community following NATO Summit

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:12:43 GMT

CHICAGO — U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) plans to meet with Chicago's Ukrainian, Lithuanian, and Polish communities following NATO Summit.While President Biden's presence dominated the headlines, Durbin also made the trip to Vilnius, Lithuania to be present for the summit. Chicago area at risk for severe weather Friday He plans to "discuss his observations from his trip... and Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine," according to a release from his office.WGN plans to livestream the media availability following Durbin's meeting within this story beginning at approximately 11:15 a.m.

Security cam captures thief using WD-40 to sneak into, ransack Indiana home

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:12:43 GMT

INDIANAPOLIS (WXIN) — The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department is investigating a string of break-ins on the city's southeast side. Police told Nexstar's WXIN the thief targeted dozens of cars and homes this week in Franklin Township. Neighbors said news of a burglar on the loose had everyone on edge. "I feel extremely violated. Very, very scared," said Carla Wilson, the neighborhood's HOA president. Police said the thief broke into Wilson's house overnight Monday around 4 a.m. while she was asleep. "When I woke up in the morning and I went to put my jewelry on and it’s missing," explained Wilson. "It's like, 'That’s weird.' You know, who would have taken my jewelry? How did my jewelry become missing? So, then I was like that’s very strange, so I’m looking through the house, and it's not here. Then I noticed the doors were not shut. I was like, 'The doors are always shut and locked.' So then and it hit me, 'Ok, I’ve been robbed'."It was all caught on ...

Outrage after Italian court clears janitor of groping teen because contact was under 10 seconds

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:12:43 GMT

ROME (AP) — Italians are using social media to denounce a court verdict clearing a school janitor of a sexual assault charge for groping a 17-year-old student because it only lasted “around five/10 seconds.”The teenager said the man came up from behind her as she was pulling up her trousers while walking with a friend up the stairs in a Rome high school, and slipped his hand beneath her underpants, according to court documents. Pulling on the undergarments, he then lifted her slightly in the air. He admitted to groping her in the April 2022 incident but claimed it was a joke.A court in Rome ruled last week that the groping was ‘just a few seconds” and wasn’t sexual, and that it was so brief that his argument that it was a joke was convincing even if “inopportune.”The verdict will be appealed, the teen's lawyer, Andrea Buitoni, told The Associated Press. Italian law allows acquittals to be appealed by both the prosecutor and the defense. Arizona Republican’s ‘colored people’ remark...