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India’s Tata will build a $5-billion new electric car battery factory in the UK

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:13:21 GMT

LONDON (AP) — India’s Tata Sons plans to build a 4-billion-pound ($5.2 billion) electric car battery factory in the U.K., the conglomerate said Wednesday. The plant is expected to become one of Europe’s largest battery cell manufacturing sites when it begins production in 2026. Britain’s government said the new factory, the largest investment in the U.K. automotive industry in decades, will create 4,000 jobs directly and thousands more in supply chains.The plant is expected to produce about 40 gigawatt hours of battery cells every year, enough to provide half the U.K.’s electric vehicle batteries, Energy Security Secretary Grant Shapps said.“Our multibillion-pound investment will bring state-of-the-art technology to the country, helping to power the automotive sector’s transition to electric mobility, anchored by our own business, JLR (Jaguar Land Rover),” Tata Sons chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran said.The new plant will supply batteries to other brands as ...

Man shot while sitting in vehicle in Scarborough: Police

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:13:21 GMT

Police are investigating a possible drive-by shooting in Scarborough that sent a man to hospital on Tuesday night.Toronto police say officers responded to the area of Kennedy Road and Eglinton Avenue East around 11:15 p.m. for reports of a shooting.A male victim was found injured at the scene and several bullet holes were discovered on the drivers side of a car.Paramedics tell CityNews a man in his 30s was sent to hospital in serious but non-life-threatening condition.Police say it appears the shooter was inside another vehicle. There is no word on any suspect or suspect vehicle descriptions.The investigation is ongoing.

The surreal Korean border village where a US soldier crossed into the North

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:13:21 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — Blue-roofed huts, a raised slab of concrete and some raked gravel are all that separate the rival Koreas at Panmunjom, a rare point of close contact along the most heavily armed border in the world. People have stepped across that thin dividing line, but only under very special circumstances, passing between two nations that are still technically at war. Former U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un did it. Former South Korean President Moon Jae-in walked hand-in-hand with Kim across the border. In 2017, a defecting North Korean soldier stumbled across nearby, under heavy gunfire, in a mad dash for sanctuary. And this week an American soldier facing possible military discipline dashed over the line, causing an international incident that could worsen already uneasy relations on the Korean Peninsula, where the North has staged dozens of missile tests this year as it works to advance a nuclear program aimed at targeting the continental United Stat...

Voting fraud claims spread ahead of Spain’s pivotal election

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:13:21 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Days before Spain holds a pivotal election, misleading claims about mail ballots and election fraud are spreading on social media and casting doubts about the results even before the votes have been counted. The allegations, amplified by supporters of the center-right Popular Party and the far-right Vox Party, bear striking similarities to the baseless claims spread by then-President Donald Trump ahead of his 2020 U.S. election defeat and offer a reminder that the distrust of elections that has marred U.S. politics has taken root in Europe, too.Sunday’s general election could tilt Spain in favor of the populist right, as the Popular Party looks to take power away from the Spanish Socialist Worker’s Party and its far-left coalition partner, Unidas Podemos (United We Can).Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called the early election after his left-leaning coalition lost big in this year’s local and regional elections that were also marked by online misinfo...

At least 4 injured in Kenya anti-government protests as schools remain closed

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:13:21 GMT

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — At least four protesters were injured in Kenya Wednesday as police clashed with demonstrators who are calling for the government to lower the cost of living.The opposition has called for three days of countrywide protests starting Wednesday in a new wave of demonstrations aimed at forcing the president to address the rising cost of living.President William Ruto had vowed that no protests would take place in the country, saying he would take on opposition leader Raila Odinga “head-on.”Four protesters were injured in the capital, Nairobi’s Mathare area, according to a police officer who wished to remain anonymous as he was not authorized to speak to the media.Businesses in Nairobi remained closed on Wednesday as police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse protesters.Demonstrations were reported in several other parts of the country including the western counties of Kisumu, Migori and Kisii where the opposition enjoys huge support. Police on Tuesday said th...

China looks to Kissinger meeting to improve strained relations with US

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:13:21 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — Amid a steep downturn in relations with the United States, China has looked to a meeting with former U.S. national security adviser and Secretary of State Henry Kissinger to revive positive momentum.The 100-year-old Kissinger met Wednesday with the ruling Communist Party’s diplomat Wang Yi, who said it was “impossible” to transform, encircle or contain China, reiterating top Chinese leaders’ statements on what they say the U.S. is trying to do based on differences over trade, technology, Taiwan and China’s human rights record.On Tuesday, Kissinger held talks with Defense Minister Li Shangfu, who is barred from visiting the U.S. over arms sales he oversaw with Russia.China’s Defense Ministry quoted Li as praising the role Kissinger played in opening up China-U.S. relations in the early 1970s, but said bilateral ties had hit a low point because of “some people on the American side who are not willing to meet China halfway.”U.S. leaders say they have no such intentions, ...

Officers help deliver baby boy at New York City's Lincoln Tunnel

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:13:21 GMT

NEW YORK CITY (WPIX) -- A healthy baby boy was born at New York City's Lincoln Tunnel on Monday thanks to two Port Authority police officers.A driver, Nestor Guallap, pulled over around 9 a.m. and told officer Timothy Jozefczyk that his partner was bleeding and in labor, according to officials. When Jozefcyk reached the mother, Maria Marin, he noticed the baby crowning. Officials said Jozefcyk continued telling Marin to push, and Kylian Aaron Guallpa Castano was born after about three minutes.A second officer, Evan Butts, arrived after Kylian was born. Butts, a former EMT with FDNY, assisted Jozefcyk with clamping the umbilical cord and helping with the afterbirth until the EMT arrived. Majority of college students do not support legacy admissions: survey “We are so happy that we got help from the police,” said Nestor Guallpa, the father. “We are so grateful that they were there and that everyone is healthy. Seeing the officers work carefully and knew what they were doing was amaz...

No one wins Mega Millions; jackpot reaches $720 million

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:13:21 GMT

(NEXSTAR) -- The Mega Millions jackpot has risen to an estimated $720 million after no winning ticket was sold — again. It’s now one of two national lotteries with enormous jackpots but equally enormous odds against winning them.No ticket for Tuesday’s Mega Millions drawing matched the white balls 19, 22, 31, 37, 54 and the gold Mega Ball 18.The new jackpot is Mega Million's seventh-largest ever, the lottery said in a news release. On Monday, the nation’s other big lottery game — Powerball — also went without a winner, and its jackpot now stands at an estimated $1 billion, the third-largest ever for that game. If you win $1.2B Powerball, perhaps consider not taking cash For Mega Millions, the estimated $720 million jackpot in the next drawing would only be distributed to a winner who chooses an annuity paid over 29 years. Nearly all grand prize winners opt to take a cash payout, which, for Tuesday night’s drawing, was an estimated $369.6 million.You may want to think twice be...

Animal shelter wants you to adopt a 'Barkie'

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:13:21 GMT

GEORGETOWN, Texas (KXAN) – The Williamson County Regional Animal Shelter said Tuesday it tied its newest adoption event to Friday's release of the new "Barbie" movie. The shelter said all dogs and cats, including puppies and kittens, can be adopted for whatever price adopters think is fair through Sunday, July 23 in the “Barkie Name Your Price" adoption event. You can get a first look at all of the "Barkies" online. The shelter also offers what it calls a Doggy Day Out Dream Date. Come to the shelter any day of the week, beginning at noon, pick up a dog and then bring them back at the end of the day.The Williamson County Regional Animal Shelter said it is "beyond critical" shelter capacity with dogs and "high" shelter capacity with cats. The shelter's website said critical level is 156 to more than 170 dogs and high capacity is 171 to 190 cats. The shelter is staffed and designed to care for up to 150 cats and 110 dogs at one time in ideal conditions, ...

Wipes and other items causing severe clogs in Austin's sewer system, officials say

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:13:21 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Austin Water is reminding people to not flush any baby wipes, diapers, rags, or other items down the toilet, because they are causing clogs in the sewage system all too often. "We are responding to sanitary sewer overflows every week," Jay Porter, the Austin Water's special services manager, said. The utility took to Twitter to remind people to not put wipes in the pipes. It tweeted three times in the past two weeks about recent clogs that crews had to untangle from the system. One tweet mentioned a certain clog required four workers, a truck, and a crane to work all day to clear out one mess. Flushable but not safe for the systemPorter explained that people are using wipes everyday and flushing them down the toilet. Water crews have to clear out a clog of wipes at least once a week, Porter explained. Officials say you should only flush down toilet paper. Even disposable wipes that are labeled "flushable" on the packaging are causing issues. Porter explained that th...