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Smoky haze blanketing US and Canada could last into the weekend

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:07:10 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — On air quality maps, purple signifies the worst of it. In reality, it’s a thick, hazardous haze that’s disrupting daily life for millions of people across the U.S. and Canada, blotting out skylines and turning skies orange.And with weather systems expected to hardly budge, the smoky blanket billowing from wildfires in Quebec and Nova Scotia and sending plumes of fine particulate matter as far away as North Carolina and northern Europe should persist into Thursday and possibly the weekend.That means at least another day, or more, of a dystopian-style detour that’s chased players from ballfields, actors from Broadway stages, delayed thousands of flights and sparked a resurgence in mask wearing and remote work — all while raising concerns about the health effects of prolonged exposure to such bad air.The weather system that’s driving the great Canadian-American smoke out — a low-pressure system over Maine and Nova Scotia — “will probably be hangi...

US vice president announces more than $100M to help Caribbean during official visit to Bahamas

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:07:10 GMT

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris announced Thursday that the U.S. is investing more than $100 million in the Caribbean region to crack down on weapons trafficking, help alleviate Haiti’s humanitarian crisis and support climate change initiatives.The announcement was made ahead of an official trip to the Bahamas for a meeting of Caribbean and U.S. leaders hosted by Harris and Bahamian Prime Minister Philip Davis.As part of the initiatives, the U.S. Justice Department expects to appoint a coordinator to oversee cases involving illegal weapons smuggling in the Caribbean as island nations report a rise in violent crimes. In addition, the State Department vowed to help improve forensic work in the region, help strengthen local police departments and support a unit based in Trinidad and Tobago aimed at helping islands solve gun-related cases and provide training for the collection and analysis of related intelligence.The U.S., with help from the U.K., also wi...

Italian court throws out case alleging early pandemic mismanagement by ex-premier, ex-minister

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:07:10 GMT

MILAN (AP) — A special Italian court has shut down a probe into whether the country’s former premier and former health minister caused unnecessary deaths by failing to extend a lockdown zone in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic. The Court of Ministers in Brescia threw out the case against ex-Premier Giuseppe Conte and ex-Health Minister Roberto Speranza on Wednesday. The investigation alleged errors were made in not extending a “red zone,” initially imposed on a limited number of towns in northern Italy’s Lombardy and Veneto regions, to neighboring Bergamo as the number of deaths there skyrocketed.Both officials have said they acted according to scientific knowledge and expert opinion available at the time.Conte told RAI state TV that the court’s decision “comforts me.”“We were facing a virus that by then was galloping, and within a few days we made the decision to close other regions in a very strict way,’’ Conte said, adding that the court’s decision als...

Senegal’s president calls for an investigation into deadly clashes, says he’s open to dialogue

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:07:10 GMT

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Senegal’s president has ordered an investigation to determine who was responsible for protests by supporters of a political opponent that turned deadly last week but said he was open to consulting with the parties involved. President Macky Sall made his first remarks about the unrest while speaking at a council of minister’s meeting on Wednesday. At least 16 people, including members of the security forces, were killed, according to the government. The opposition says at least 19 were killed. “The president of the republic has strongly condemned these extremely serious attacks against the state, the republic and its institutions,” government spokesman Abdou Karim Fofana said. He said the protests had included violence, looting and cyber-attacks, “the aim of which was undoubtedly to sow terror and bring our country to a standstill.”Clashes between some protesters and police erupted after opposition leader Ousmane Sonko was convicted of corrupting you...

Bomb explodes in Afghanistan in a memorial ceremony for a Taliban official, killing another official

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:07:10 GMT

ISLAMABAD (AP) — A bomb killed a former Taliban police official Thursday in Afghanistan’s northeastern Badakhshan province during a memorial for a deputy governor who had died in a previous blast, a Taliban official said.Safiullah Samim, Taliban’s former police chief for northern Baghlan province, was among those killed in the blast during the funeral ceremony of the deputy governor of Badakhshan province, according to Moazuddin Ahmadi, provincial director of information and culture.The latest explosion occurred near Nabawi mosque during a funeral for Mawlavi Nisar Ahmad Ahmadi, the deputy governor of Badakhshan. He was killed by a car bomb on Tuesday alongside of his driver in Faizabad, the capital of Badakhshan.The provincial director of information and culture couldn’t provide an exact number of casualties, but added that an investigation is ongoing.Two local sources who demanded anonymity because they were not authorized to speak with media said that the blast happened ins...

Reprieve for thousands of Zimbabweans in South Africa as their legal stay is extended

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:07:10 GMT

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Tens of thousands of Zimbabwean nationals working in South Africa who were facing deportation when their work permits expire at the end of June have been given a temporary reprieve after South African authorities extended the deadline on Thursday.About 178,000 holders of the Zimbabwean Exemption Permit, an immigration permit issued in 2010 to Zimbabweans who had migrated to South Africa, now have until the end of December this year to apply for other visas and waivers to continue working in the country.Many Zimbabweans, some undocumented, are living in South Africa, with a significant influx recorded following the 2008 political and economic upheaval in Zimbabwe that resulted in many fleeing to their southern African neighbor.Many faced deportation as they have struggled to obtain work visas due to a combination of factors including glitches in the online application system, administrative delays and backlogs in the issuing of all visas, and the removal of some o...

Structural concerns prompt evacuation at Merrillville apartment complex

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:07:10 GMT

MERRILLVILLE, Ind. — Some residents of a Northwest Indiana apartment complex were forced out of their homes on Wednesday after an inspection revealed structural issues.SkyCam9 flew above the scene in the 1700 block of West 55th Avenue after the area fire department deemed the Hickory Ridge Apartments buildings in Merrillville, Indiana unsafe.“Since we’ve had so many issues at this apartment complex, our fire inspector was coming through just to take note of some issues that were supposed to be repaired,” Merrillville Fire Department Chief Edward Yerga said.Yerga said the inspector realized structural integrity was an immediate concern, and alerted town officials and the Planning and Building Department, which agreed an evacuation was needed.According to town officials, the brick front wall of one building buckled outward. “Our immediate concern now from the fire department is just taking care of the residents,” Yerga said.SEE ALSO | Investigation underway after explosion at apartmen...

Thursday Forecast: Temps in mid 70s with mostly sunny and hazy conditions

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:07:10 GMT

CHICAGO — Mostly sunny conditions Thursday. Hazy and cooler lakeside. Winds: NE 5-15. High: 74/68. Interactive Radar: Track showers and storm here Mostly clear tonight. Winds: NW 5-10. Low: 53.Friday Forecast: Mostly sunny Friday conditions and cooler lakeside. Winds: NNE 5-10. High: 79/65.Full forecast details and more at the WGN Weather Center blog

New York man carries mom up and down 8 flights of stairs in apartment building

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:07:10 GMT

THE BRONX, N.Y. (WPIX) - A man from the Bronx is tired of inconsistent elevator service in his mother's apartment building. He said the final straw was carrying her up and down eight flights of stairs to her medical appointments.Anthony Molina loves to visit his mom and go with her three times a week to dialysis. After an hour of waiting for an elevator after one of her appointments, Molina took a picture of his 69-year-old mother, Rosita González, outside of it. Sitting in a wheelchair, she appears tired and weak, and, Molina said, "kind of desperate."González is a retired New York City Housing Authority worker with 26 years on the job. Molina said it is not right that she has to wait for the elevator sometimes for hours.  NYC air quality timeline: How long will the smoke last? He calls the elevators, which serve 20 stories, "unreliable."  Neighbors, some of which were gathered in a group waiting for the elevator in the lobby, agreed. One of them called...

Gov. Abbott names Kathleen Jackson as interim chair of Public Utility Commission

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:07:10 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) – Gov. Greg Abbott named Kathleen Jackson interim chair of the Public Utility Commission on Wednesday. Jackson has served as a PUC commissioner since August 2022. She replaces former PUC chair Peter Lake who resigned June 2. Gov. Abbott, in his statement announcing Jackson's appointment, said, “Kathleen and her fellow PUC commissioners are doing a terrific job implementing the 14 bipartisan reforms that were passed and signed into law in 2021 and working with the legislature in the regular session this year on the PCM design." Abbott said Jackson would serve as chair until a permanent chair is announced. The “Performance Credit Mechanism” is the PUC's proposed redesign of the state’s electric market. PUC commissioners recommend it in January saying it would improve grid reliability, but critics said could pass more costs onto the consumer.“I’m honored and humbled by Governor Abbott’s trust and confidence in me to lead the Public Utility Commission at this very importan...