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Biden to consult with Japan’s Kishida ahead of Group of Seven summit in Hiroshima

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:00:51 GMT

HIROSHIMA, Japan (AP) — President Joe Biden on Thursday will open his visit to a Japan that has tightened its economic and national security alliance with the U.S. by meeting privately with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida ahead of the larger Group of Seven summit. Kishida’s home city of Hiroshima will play host to the gathering of major industrialized nations. The setting of Hiroshima, where the U.S. dropped the first nuclear bomb in 1945 during World War II, carries newfound resonance as the U.S., Japan and their allies strategize on dealing with Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine.Jake Sullivan, the White House national security adviser, said the Russian invasion looms large, and would be a significant conversation during the summit. “There will be discussions about the battlefield,” Sullivan said aboard Air Force One, stressing that the G-7 leaders would work to seal off any loopholes in sanctions so their effect can be maximized. “There’ll be discussions abou...

New Hampshire House voting on whether parents who ask must be told about transgender talk at school

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:00:51 GMT

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — The national debate surrounding transgender students and parental rights returns to the New Hampshire Statehouse on Thursday.The House is set to vote on a bill to create a “Parents’ Bill of Rights” similar to those already enacted by Republican-led legislatures in multiple states. It passed the GOP-dominated Senate in March along party lines but faces an uncertain future in the 400-member House, where Republicans have a razor-thin majority.Much of the debate has focused on whether to require school officials — when asked by parents — to disclose that their child is using a different name or being referred to as being a different gender.“Parents who ask such questions likely already suspect that their children are having problematic issues in this area, so this bill is not an effort to ‘out’ such students,” Republican Rep. Arlene Quartatiello wrote in remarks printed in the House calendar ahead of the vote. “It is, rather, an effort to empower a partnership betwe...

US metros are growing, many reversing 2021 drops, new estimates show

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:00:51 GMT

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — The flight from urban areas that took place during the first year of the pandemic either reversed or slowed in its second year, as last year metropolitan areas in Texas and Florida boomed and declines in New York and Los Angeles were halved, according to new estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau.During the first full year of the pandemic in 2021, more than half of the 20 largest U.S. metro areas lost residents, and all U.S. metro areas grew by just 0.1%, as fear of the virus sent residents fleeing the most densely-populated urban areas and the popularity of remote work allowed people to live far from their workplaces.By comparison, only eight of the 20 largest metro areas decreased in 2022, and the growth rate for all U.S. metros was 0.4%. Among the largest U.S. metros that had gains in 2022 after experiencing losses in 2021 were Washington, Miami-Fort Lauderdale, Seattle, Minneapolis and San Diego, according to 2022 population estimates released Thursday by the...

‘Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny’ debuts Tuesday at the Cannes Film Festival

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:00:51 GMT

CANNES, France (AP) — Indiana Jones and Harrison Ford will swing into Cannes on Thursday for the world premiere of “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” in one of the most anticipated events of the French Riviera festival.Ford, who has said “Dial of Destiny” will be his last performance as the character, is also set to receive an honorary Palme d’Or from the Cannes Film Festival. Last year, Cannes feted “Top Gun Maverick” and Tom Cruise in a similar manner. It’s not the first “Indiana Jones” film to premiere in Cannes. The fourth installment, “Indiana and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” launched at the 2008 edition of the festival. Critics and fans alike dismissed “Crystal Skull” as a misjudged sequel, though it still made $790 million worldwide. This time, “Dial of Destiny” is hoping to make a similar if not larger global impact without its famous filmmakers. The new film, which the Walt Disney Co. will release June 30 in the U.S., is the first “Indiana” film not di...

The pandemic widened gaps in reading. Can one teacher ‘do something about that’?

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:00:51 GMT

NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. (AP) — Richard Evans makes his way through rows of his students in his third grade classroom, stooping to pick up an errant pencil and answering questions above the din of chairs sliding on hardwood floors. The desks, once spread apart to fight COVID-19, are back together. Masks cover just a couple of faces. But the pandemic maintains an unmistakable presence.Look no further than the blue horseshoe-shaped table in the back of the room where Evans calls a handful of students back for extra help in reading — a pivotal subject for third grade — at the end of each day.Here is where time lost to pandemic shutdowns and quarantines shows itself: in the students who are repeating this grade. In the little fingers slowly sliding beneath words sounded out one syllable at a time. In the teacher’s patient coaching through reading concepts usually mastered in first grade — letter “blends” like “ch” and “sh.” It is here, too, where Evans jots pluses and minuses and numbers on ...

Oil drilling project near mouth of Amazon River rejected by Brazil’s environmental regulator

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:00:51 GMT

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Brazil’s environmental regulator has rejected a license for a controversial offshore oil drilling project near the mouth of the Amazon River that drew strong opposition from activists who warned of its potential for damaging the area. The agency’s president, Rodrigo Agostinho, highlighted environmental concerns in announcing the decision Wednesday evening to turn down the state-run oil company Petrobras’ request to drill the FZA-M-59 block. He cited “a group of technical inconsistencies” in the company’s application.With Brazil’s existing production set to peak in coming years, Petrobras has sought to secure more reserves off Brazil’s northern coast. The company earmarked almost half its five-year, $6 billion exploration budget for the area. CEO Jean Paul Prates had said that the first well would be temporary and that the company has never recorded a leak in offshore drilling. The company failed to convince the environmental agency.“Ther...

Northern, central Minnesota under another air quality alert as Canadian wildfire smoke returns

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:00:51 GMT

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency has issued another air quality alert for parts of northern and central Minnesota beginning at 10 p.m. Wednesday and continuing through noon Thursday due to drifting smoke from Canadian wildfires.Much of the same area was under an alert Tuesday. Southern Minnesota, including the Twin Cities, hasn’t been covered by the alerts, but smoke has still filtered into the atmosphere over the region.Counties include Aitkin, Becker, Beltrami, Big Stone, Cass, Clay, Clearwater, Crow Wing, Douglas, Grant, Hubbard, Itasca, Kittson, Koochiching, Lake of the Woods, Mahnomen, Marshall, Morrison, Norman, Otter Tail, Pennington, Polk, Pope, Red Lake, Roseau, St. Louis County, Stevens, Todd, Traverse, Wadena and Wilkin.To reduce additional air pollutants, open burning is not allowed, and campfires are discouraged during the alert period. Additional counties may have burning restrictions in place due to high fire danger levels. For up-to-date information on fire dan...

Concert review: Shania Twain’s new songs and odd vocals mar Xcel Energy Center show

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:00:51 GMT

A few songs into Shania Twain’s concert Wednesday at Xcel Energy Center, the Canadian country/pop superstar told the audience: “OK, you guys are warmed up now, I can tell.”The thing is, was Twain warmed up herself? For much of the show, Twain seemed distracted and distanced from the near-capacity St. Paul hockey arena. She gave the performance of someone who has spent more than a year on the road and is really ready to wrap things up and go home. Problem is, this was the 12th night of the tour.Twain, 57, was one of the biggest stars in music in the late ’90s and early ’00s thanks in part to the two smashes that made up her encore, “That Don’t Impress Me Much” and “Man! I Feel Like a Woman!” But she took an extended hiatus after a messy divorce from her husband/producer Robert John “Mutt” Lange (who cheated on Twain with her best friend) and a bout with Lyme disease that damaged her voice to the point she had to have throat surgery.Afte...

Philadelphia’s likely next mayor could offer model for how Democrats talk about crime

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:00:51 GMT

By SARA BURNETT and BROOKE SCHULTZ (Associated Press)PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The Democrat who will almost certainly become Philadelphia’s next mayor wants to hire hundreds of additional police officers to walk their beats and get to know residents. She wants to devote resources to recruiting more police and says officers should be able to stop and search pedestrians if they have a legitimate reason to do so.Those positions, particularly the search policies that have been criticized for wrongly targeting people of color, would seem out of step in a progressive bastion like Philadelphia. But Cherelle Parker trounced her rivals in this week’s mayoral primary with a message that centered on tougher law enforcement to combat rising crime and violence.While local politics don’t always align with the ideological divides that guide the national debate, Parker’s victory offers a fresh case study for Democrats as they wrestle with how to approach the issue of violent...

Body discovered in San Bernardino County

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:00:51 GMT

Authorities are investigating after a body was discovered in San Bernardino County on Tuesday.California Highway Patrol deputies discovered the man’s body in a desert area of Needles, just west of Interstate 95 and south of Highway 163 around 9 a.m., according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department.When county deputies arrived, they found the body lying near a truck. Authorities determined the man “suffered trauma consistent with a gunshot wound.”No identification on the body was found at the time and officials said it’s unknown when the murder occurred. No suspect description was immediately available.“The victim was transported to the coroner’s office where positive identification and next-of-kin notification are pending,” authorities said.The investigation remains ongoing and anyone with information is urged to call homicide detectives at 909-890-4904. Anonymous tips can be submitted to the We-Tip Hotline at 1-800-782-7463 or online at www.wetip.com.