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More dry, windy weather sparks fire risk for DC region

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:24:29 GMT

Dry and windy conditions are once again in the forecast for Tuesday, leading to an increased risk of outdoor fires in the D.C. area.The D.C. area is technically currently experiencing drought conditions, according to Rubin-Oster a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.So far this year, the region has picked up about 6 inches of rain when normally that number should be around 11 inches at this time of the year.“This is the fifth-driest start to a year in D.C.’s history,” Rubin-Oster said. “This continues from our dry winter too.”Early Tuesday morning, the National Weather Service issued a “Red Flag Warning” for the entire region, which is set to be in effect through the afternoon and evening, with wind gusts ranging up to 35 to 45 mph. The alert came almost 10 hours after the weather agency issued a “Fire Weather Watch.”“A combination of strong winds, low relative humidity, and warm temperatures can contribute to e...

La facción paramilitar RSF de Sudán aprueba un alto el fuego de 24 horas

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:24:29 GMT

(CNN) — El jefe de las Fuerzas de Apoyo Rápido (RSF) de Sudán, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, aprobó un alto el fuego de 24 horas “para garantizar el paso seguro de los civiles y la evacuación de los heridos”.El “armisticio” se acordó tras una conversación con el Secretario de Estado estadounidense, Antony Blinken, dijo Dagalo, también conocido como Hemedti, en Twitter.Los intensos combates continúan por tercer día en Sudán mientras el número de muertos se acerca a 100Hemedti afirmó que su rival, las Fuerzas Armadas de Sudán, no han respetado el alto el fuego y han bombardeado zonas densamente pobladas poniendo en peligro la vida de civiles.“Esperamos nuevas conversaciones con el secretario de Estado estadounidense sobre la mejor manera de abordar estas violaciones”, declaró Hemedti.The-CNN-Wire™ & © 2023 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.Source

Still haven’t filed your taxes? Here’s what you need to know

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:24:29 GMT

(CNN) — So far this tax season, the IRS has received more than 100 million income tax returns for 2022.That means tens of millions of households have yet to file their returns. If yours is among them, here are some last-minute tax-filing tips to keep in mind as the Tuesday, April 18 deadline approaches.Not everyone has to file on April 18: If you live in a federally declared disaster area, have a business there — or have relevant tax documents stored by businesses in that area — it’s likely the IRS has already extended the filing and payment deadlines for you. Here is where you can find the specific extension dates for each disaster area.Thanks to many rounds of extreme weather in recent months, for instance, tax filers in most of California — which accounts for 10% to 15% of all federal filers — have already been granted an extension until Oct. 16 to file and to pay, according to an IRS spokesperson.If you’re in the armed forces and are currently or were recently ...

Von der Leyen warns China — again — not to use force against Taiwan

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:24:29 GMT

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Tuesday again warned China against using force in the Taiwan Strait, reiterating a message she delivered to Chinese President Xi Jinping during a high-stakes visit to Beijing earlier this month. The EU, von der Leyen said, has “consistently called for peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, and we stand strongly against any unilateral change of the status quo, in particular by the use of force.”Her comments, made before the European Parliament, highlight the distance between herself and French President Emmanuel Macron on the issue — a disagreement that recently jumped into the spotlight while the two were jointly traveling in China. Toward the end of the trip, Macron suggested in an interview with POLITICO and the French daily Les Echos that Europe should be wary of getting drawn into a U.S.-China confrontation over Taiwan, remarks that came shortly after von der Leyen sent a stern warning to Beijing not to meddle ...

Parliament approves core EU climate legislation

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:24:29 GMT

The European Parliament gave its final blessing to key pieces of legislation that form the backbone of the EU’s flagship climate policy package — putting them one step closer to becoming law.Two years of fraught negotiations between the Parliament, the Council of the EU and the European Commission culminated last year in a compromise deal on plans to revise the bloc’s carbon market, set up a carbon tax, and create a Social Climate Fund to compensate vulnerable consumers. The files are a key part of the EU’s so-called Fit for 55 package, which was designed to help the bloc cut greenhouse-gas emissions 55 percent by 2030 against a 1990 baseline. The revision of the EU’s carbon market, known as the Emissions Trading System, includes fully integrating aviation into the mechanism and extending it to cover shipping emissions. It also compels power generators and heavy polluters to curb their pollution by 62 percent by 2030.The deal also establishes a parallel c...

UK strikes state-level trade pact with Oklahoma

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:24:29 GMT

LONDON — Britain has struck its fourth state-level trade deal in Washington on Tuesday as talks with the Biden administration for a comprehensive deal remain on ice.U.K. International Trade Minister Nigel Huddleston is in Washington to sign a pact with Oklahoma focused on boosting cross-border investment in green technologies like carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS).“The U.S. is our largest trading partner, and these wins reflect our successful twin-track approach to trade with the U.S., strengthening links with individual states in parallel with work with the federal government,” said Huddleston.Prime Minister Rishi Sunak pressed Joe Biden last week during his visit to Northern Ireland to get trade dialogues back on track with the aim of working towards a comprehensive deal. But the Biden administration indicates it won’t talk trade until this June, at the earliest.U.K. Business and Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch noted in parliament Monday that “the U.S. is not doing [fre...

Increasing Sunshine Ahead

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:24:29 GMT

Mother Nature clearly had a case of the Mondays yesterday with the clouds and showers we had. We needed the rain so we can’t complain. Actually, we need more rain than what we had. Most areas picked up less than a tenth of an inch and we’re running almost two inches behind in rainfall just for the month of April. Outside of a widely isolated shower today (that won’t provide any significant rain), the rest of the work week will be dry.Our current storm system is a stretched out one. The cold front is that line of clouds and showers stretching from Halifax and south into the Atlantic Ocean but the center of the storm is way back near Toronto and the Great Lakes. The center of the storm will lift off to our northwest but as it passes will bring some clouds and the chance of a widely isolated shower. It will also pick up the wind quite a bit later this morning and afternoon.The shower chance is small, like 10-20% but it’s not zero. I think the chance of one of th...

Medford man to appear in court on murder charge after bodies of 2 missing men found in Brighton storage unit

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:24:29 GMT

A Medford man is expected to be arraigned in Somerville District Court Tuesday after the bodies of two missing men were found in a storage unit on North Beacon Street on Saturday, according to Middlesex County DA Marian Ryan. Leonid Volkov, 37, was arrested Saturday in North Attleboro in connection with the deaths of Kiryl Schukin, 37, and Pavel Veshkin, 28, who were found suffering from stab wounds.Investigators executing a search warrant on the unit, which had been rented by Volkov using one of the victim’s names, found the men’s bodies in rubber storage bins. One of the bodies, tentatively identified as Kiryl Schukin, had been dismembered, officials said.Investigators say they also found bleach, rubber gloves, and items belonging to Schukin and Veshkin. The victims, officials said, were known to Volkov.The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) accepted jurisdiction of the case and has ruled the cause of death of the man identified as Schukin as homicide. The second man has...

Orioles minor league report: Joey Ortiz, Drew Rom excel as farm system shows off its depth

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:24:29 GMT

Infielder Joey Ortiz played five solid games last week, but it was the one he didn’t play that raised eyebrows.Ortiz, the Orioles’ No. 7 prospect according to Baseball America, hit .364 with six RBIs for Triple-A Norfolk to continue his solid start to the season. But he was held out of Saturday’s game as a precaution as Baltimore infielder Ramón Urías was being assessed in concussion protocol, the Orioles announced.Ortiz wasn’t called up Sunday or Monday, but if Urías has to go on the seven-day injured list as he progresses through concussion protocol, it’s likely that Ortiz would receive his first call-up to the big leagues.Orioles manager Brandon Hyde wouldn’t comment Sunday about a potential Ortiz promotion, instead focusing on how Urías was “feeling a lot better” a day after taking a 96.2 mph pitch to the helmet.Ortiz, who turns 25 in July, is one of three prominent infield prospects in Norfolk, alongside Jordan...

OBF: Until banner 18 is raised, questions will follow Boston Celtics

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:24:29 GMT

The Celtics transformed a 32-point lead over the Atlanta Hawks in Game 1 into a series of nagging questions concerning their ultimate fate in the NBA playoffs.“Does Boston have the killer instinct to win a championship?”“No,” until further notice.“Who wants to carry this team on their back?”The line forms here.“Will there be any pre-game playoff guarantees?”Don’t want to upset a fellow Nike athlete.The names on the Celtics roster have combined 5,135 regular-season and 678 playoff games on their collective resume. None has won an NBA championship. Gone, too, is the multi-banner pedigree of Danny Ainge in the front office.Winning was once the longest strand of Celtics DNA. For instance, the 1986 Celtics had a combined 11 rings on the roster before they took the court in Game 1 against the Rockets in the NBA Finals. Coach K.C. Jones added nine on his dresser as a player and coach.Now the only Celtics’ ring-bearers at TD Garden reside in the owner’s suite, seated at courtside, or are at...