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Commerce Department announces nearly $1 billion in grants for ‘middle mile’ internet access

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:57 GMT

The massive federal effort to expand internet access to every home in the U.S. took a major step forward on Friday with the announcement of $930 million in grants to shore up connections in remote parts of Alaska, rural Texas and dozens of other places where significant gaps in connectivity persist.The so-called middle mile grants, announced by the Department of Commerce, are meant to create large-scale networks that will enable retail broadband providers to link subscribers to the internet. Department officials likened the role of the middle mile — the midsection of the infrastructure necessary to enable internet access, composed of high-capacity fiber lines carrying huge amounts of data at very high speeds — to how the interstate highway system forged connections between communities.“These networks are the workhorses carrying large amounts of data over very long distances,” said Mitch Landrieu, the White House’s infrastructure coordinator, in a media Zoom call. “They’re the ones t...

Drought and rising heat bring unusual wildfire warnings in northern Europe and Scotland

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:57 GMT

HELSINKI (AP) — Summer is wildfire season in southern Europe, but this year the continent’s north is also at risk, with forest fire warnings in effect across the Nordic and Baltic countries.A lack of rain and rising temperatures have led to dangerously dry conditions in the region, leading to worries of a repeat of the summer of 2018 when major wildfires swept across Sweden in particular.Small wildfires are already burning in Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland and experts worry it could get much worse unless there’s significant rainfall in coming weeks.Unlike the sun-soaked Mediterranean countries, which have to deal with wildfires every summer, the phenomenon is rare in the countries of northern Europe, where summers are normally cool and wet by comparison.“These countries are relatively new to drought problems,” said Niclas Hjerdt, head of hydrological forecasting at Sweden’s weather agency SMHI. “We usually have an excess of water up here in northern Europe and Scand...

Stock market today: World shares track Wall Street rally, Tokyo’s benchmark at 33-year high

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:57 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — Shares advanced in Europe and Asia on Friday after a broad-based rally on Wall Street. U.S. futures were little changed and oil prices wobbled lower after gaining more than 3% on Thursday. Germany’s DAX added 0.2% to 16,328.40 and the CAC 40 in Paris surged 0.6% to 7,337.98. Britain’s FTSE 100 was up 0.2% at 7,642.77. The future for the S&P 500 gained 0.2% while that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged less than 0.1% higher. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index closed at a 33-year high after the Bank of Japan wrapped up a policy meeting by keeping its ultra-lax monetary stance unchanged, as expected. It is a standout among central banks, most of which have sought to rein in inflation by raising interest rates. The key Japanese rate has stayed at minus 0.1% for a decade and policymakers have indicated they are not convinced that current inflation, which finally has surpassed the BOJ’s target of about 2%, will be sustained. “With extremely high uncertai...

Mass of rock slides down mountainside above evacuated Swiss village, narrowly misses settlement

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:57 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — A large mass of rock slid down a mountainside above a Swiss village that was evacuated last month, stopping just short of the settlement, authorities said Friday.Brienz, in the southeastern Graubuenden region of Switzerland, was evacuated on May 12 after geology experts warned that the Alpine rock looming over the village could break loose. In recent days, local officials said rock movements on the slope were accelerating.Much of the rock mass tumbled toward Brienz between 11 p.m. and midnight on Thursday night, the local council said. It added that there was no evidence of damage to the village and the rockslide stopped just short of it, leaving a “meters-high deposit” in front of the school building.It wasn’t immediately clear how much of the 1.9 million cubic meters (67 million cubic feet) of rock that had been at risk of breaking away actually came loose, but the local council said it appeared to be a large part of the material.Authorities stepped the alert l...

Biden will mark the anniversary of a gun safety law signed after the Uvalde, Texas, school massacre

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:57 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Just a year ago, President Joe Biden signed the first significant piece of federal gun safety legislation in nearly three decades.It was a good start, Biden has said, but it didn’t go far enough.On Friday, the Democratic president will speak at a summit in Connecticut highlighting how the sweeping law has been implemented so far. He’ll also use it as a moment to push for universal background checks and the banning of so-called “assault weapons.” Those are part of a 2024 political platform that was unthinkable to Democrats as recently as Barack Obama’s term. The gathering is being led by U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., and major gun safety groups hoping to build on recent progress.“We actually had it wrong for a long time. We left an opportunity on the table for decades,” Murphy said of the push for gun safety legislation.Even before the Sandy Hook massacre in Murphy’s state in 2012 spurred him to action, there was a mythology around Democratic el...

German police appeal for witness footage of attack in which Americans were thrown into Alpine gorge

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:57 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — Police in southern Germany are appealing for further pictures and videos taken by witnesses of an attack near Neuschwanstein castle in which an American man allegedly pushed two women down a steep slope, killing one of them. A suspect was arrested following the attack.German news agency dpa quoted police Friday saying that they have so far only received about a dozen submissions on a specially created website, but assume much more footage was taken by tourists present at the site at the time on Wednesday.“We are looking for photographs which, by chance, show two young women and a man (approx. 30 years old) who were staying east of the Marienbruecke,” Kempten police said on their website. “These persons may have been walking together or separately.”The Marienbruecke, or Mary’s Bridge, is a popular vantage point for photos of Neuschwanstein, the most famous of the castles built by King Ludwig II of Bavaria in the 19th century. According to the initial police invest...

Bill Gates meets Chinese president Xi Jinping on China visit

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:57 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — Microsoft’s co-founder Bill Gates has met with Chinese President Xi Jinping just days after a visit to Beijing by Tesla CEO Elon Musk. The state broadcaster CCTV showed Xi saying he was happy to see Gates, who he called an “old friend,” after three years without meeting during the pandemic. “I believe that the foundation of Sino-U.S. relations lies in the people,” Xi said to Gates. “Under the current world situation, we can carry out various activities that benefit our two countries, the people of our countries, and the entire human race.”Gates told Xi he was “very honored” to meet with Xi. The visits by leading foreign business people have coincided with efforts by the ruling Communist Party to revive investor interest in China’s slowing economy. Apple CEO Tim Cook visited China in March. Tensions between the U.S. and China have festered in recent years, but recently the two sides have held talks on trade and other issues. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expecte...

Dead body found in Savoy believed to be stabbing suspect

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:57 GMT

SAVOY, Mass. (NEWS10) -- According to the Berkshire County District Attorney's Office, a dead body found Thursday morning in Savoy is believed to be domestic stabbing suspect Jeffrey Cote. Police were searching for Cote for over a week. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! According to the District Attorney's Office, Massachusetts State Police and K9 units continued their search of Cote's property in Savoy, trying to find him. A second search was deemed necessary after an unsuccessful weeklong investigation into his whereabouts. Roughly two hours into their search Thursday morning, a member of the Mass. State Police Special Emergency Response Team (SERT) found a dead body believed to be Cote, per the District Attorney's Office. Home builder accused of grand larceny, scheme to defraud Preliminary investigations suggest no evidence of foul play surrounding the death, however, the investigation is ongoing. The District Attorne...

UAlbany Football takes part in community clean up

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:57 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- The UAlbany Football team took part in some late spring cleaning in downtown Albany Thursday afternoon in conjunction with Hood's House of Hoops. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! A large portion of the team, including members of the coaching staff, helped clean first and second street in addition to other surrounding areas as a part of a community clean-up event. Giving back is something the players and coaches believe is a necessity in the capital region."I think it's awesome to give back to your community no matter where you are and what you're doing," said Ozzie Hutchinson. "I think as football players, we have a platform that we stand on, and I think it's awesome that people in the community get to see us out here and look to us as a positive outlet."For associate head coach Jared Ambrose, giving back is something he holds close to his heart."Think it's a necessity. I feel blessed every day that ...

Finland's right-wing parties strike deal to form government

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:57 GMT

Finland's conservative National Coalition (NCP), winner of April's parliamentary election, has reached agreement to form a majority government with the eurosceptic, anti-immigration Finns Party and two smaller groups, its leader said on Thursday (15 June)."All issues have been resolved and the papers are ready," said NCP leader Petteri Orpo, a fiscal conservative set to become Finland's next prime minister, referring to the government programme.By getting the NCP, the nationalist Finns, minority-language Swedish People's Party and the Christian Democrats to agree on a common platform, Orpo shifts Finnish politics to the right and sends left-wing Prime Minister Sanna Marin into opposition.During 11-week talks over how to govern Finland during the coming four years the Finns and the Swedish People's Party had struggled to agree on immigration, climate policy and public finances, but reached a compromise in the end.Orpo's government is expected to curb the fiscal deficit by cutting une...