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India among top actors for foreign interference in Canada: national security adviser

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:58:47 GMT

OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s national security adviser says India is among the top sources of foreign interference in Canada, a public designation Ottawa has largely limited to authoritarian states.“When I talk about foreign interference and economic security, I’m now talking about a number of state actors and non-state proxies,” Jody Thomas said last Friday.“This includes Russia, Iran, India. That said, the actor that comes up most on these issues, and it’s no surprise to anybody, is China.”Thomas’s remarks, at a conference held by the Canadian Global Affairs Institute, come months after the Liberals highlighted India as part of their Indo-Pacific strategy and as a priority for establishing closer economic and scientific ties.India’s high commission in Ottawa has not responded to a request for comment.On occasion India has argued that elements in Canada are behind interference in Indian domestic affairs, particularly...

Agenda spat at UN climate talks as top official sees chance to ask ‘difficult questions’ in Dubai

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:58:47 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — Nations resumed talks on tackling global warming Monday with the aim of shaping a deal that might put the world on track to prevent a dangerous increase in temperatures, as the U.N.’s top climate official called for deep cuts in fossil fuel use.Diplomats began two-week negotiations in Bonn, Germany, despite failing to agree on a formal agenda because of differences on the topic of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.The issue lies at the heart of the climate problem, since burning oil, coal and gas is responsible for most warming that’s occurred since preindustrial times.Simon Stiell, who heads the U.N. climate office, told The Associated Press in an interview over the weekend that limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit) will require a phaseout of fossil fuels, something many oil-producing countries have pushed back on.Environmental campaigners have lamented that this year’s U.N. climate summit will be held in the United Arab Emi...

Apple unveils sleek 'Vision Pro' goggles after years of speculation

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:58:47 GMT

CUPERTINO, Calif. (AP) — Apple on Monday unveiled a long-rumored headset that will place its users between the virtual and real world, while also testing the technology trendsetter's ability to popularize new-fangled devices after others failed to capture the public's imagination.After years of speculation, Apple CEO Tim Cook hailed the arrival of the sleek goggles — dubbed "Vision Pro" — at the the company's annual developers conference held on a park-like campus in Cupertino, California, that Apple's late co-founder Steve Jobs helped design.“This marks the beginning of a journey that will bring a new dimension to powerful personal technology," Cook told the crowd.Although Apple executives provided an extensive preview of the headset's capabilities during the final half hour of Monday's event, consumers will have to wait before they can get their hands on the device and prepare to pay a hefty price to boot. Vision Pro will sell for $3,500 once it's released in stores early next yea...

Dave Chappelle to perform this summer in Austin

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:58:47 GMT

Editor’s Note: The video above shows KXAN News Today’s top headlines for June 5, 2023.AUSTIN (KXAN) — Comedian Dave Chappelle is coming to Austin this summer.The Moody Center announced Chappelle is making a stop in Austin on July 14, and tickets go on sale Monday at 5 p.m.Chappelle's Austin date is one of several Texas shows this summer. Chappelle is also going to perform in June and July in Dallas, Houston and San Antonio. Currently, his only other scheduled show, aside from the Texas dates, is Monday, June 5, at San Francisco's Punch Line Comedy Club.Dave Chappelle in AustinChappelle recorded a Netflix special "Deep in the Heart of Texas: Dave Chappelle Live at Austin City Limits" at the Moody Theatre in 2017.He also performed with Joe Rogan in a series of shows in January 2021 at Stubb’s Waller Creek Amphitheater.

Rain and thunderstorms moving through the area

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:58:47 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Showers and thunderstorms are moving through the area this afternoon, producing dangerous cloud-to-ground lightning and pockets of heavy rainfall that may produce minor flooding.LIVE RADARUPDATED RAIN TOTALSToday's rain comes after overnight storms dropped 1-2 inches of rain in parts of Austin, adding a bit of water to some creeks and more moisture to the soil.Preliminary rainfall totals as of 8:45AMSevere thunderstorms are not of great concern this week (hail, wind or tornadoes).Scattered rain and thunderstorms continue overnight and again on Tuesday, but rain chances drop thereafter. Only an isolated storm is in the forecast late-week through the coming weekend as heat and humidity become the main story. A ridge of high pressure will lead to the hottest temperatures of the year so far this weekend, and may send temperatures to 100 degrees next week.Heat turns up late week BLOG: Summer forecast released: When do 100º days begin Hotter than normal temperatures exp...

Our first 100-degree day of the season could be next week

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:58:47 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- The First Warning Weather team is tracking some major changes to our weather pattern. After a fairly mild end to Spring and start to Meteorological Summer, (especially when compared to last year) odds are increasing that we will see our first triple-digit temperature of the season at some point next week. 2022 had the third-highest number of triple-digit days in a year with 68. 2011 had the most ever with 90! The average in a given year is 29. FORECAST: Scattered storms to kick off the work week Models are getting into better agreement that our pattern will change from wet and mild to hot and dry. The 'National Blend of Models' forecast data, which essentially takes into account various forecast models, is starting to compute our first triple-digit temperature of the season at some point next week. July 4th is when we typically on average see our first 100-degree day. So if we get our first next week that would place us a few weeks ahead of schedule.A blend of for...

Austin American-Statesman journalists go on strike demanding better wages

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:58:47 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin American-Statesman journalists went on strike Monday in an effort to improve salaries and benefits.The strike is one of many put on by journalists working for Gannett, which owns the Austin American-Statesman.Journalists are upset with wages and tell KXAN the company has not invested in their local newsroom, they are asking for a $60,000 floor salary.“It is a very expensive place to live and, of course, a lot of people in Austin are feeling that and that includes our journalists,” Statesman K-12 education reporter Keri Heath said.Heath said inflation and the cost of living have been challenging and it’s forcing some journalists to leave the profession.  Luz Moreno-Lozano said her last day was Monday and she will be moving on to another job that pays more. Moreno-Lozano covered local government and city hall for the Statesman.“Over time Gannett has come in and slashed our newsroom and it has gotten harder and harder to cover all of the areas we used to,” M...

Mayo Clinic announces major plans for downtown Rochester

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:58:47 GMT

ROCHESTER — Mayo Clinic is lifting the veil on a large, multiyear infrastructure investment that will change the look of downtown Rochester, embrace digital technologies and greatly expand the health system’s clinical space.Mayo Clinic leaders announced the initiative, called “Bold. Forward. Unbound. in Rochester,” on Monday. The plan centers on redeveloping several sites in downtown Rochester, including the former Lourdes High School property and the Ozmun Building, in order to create new ancillary and clinical buildings.How much will Mayo Clinic be investing in this project?“The exact number has not been approved by the Board of Trustees,” said Dr. Craig Daniels, a pulmonary and critical care physician and the physician leader for the development initiative. “The scope of the project is large. There’s no question that this is a historic investment in Rochester.”In May, the Mayo Clinic Board of Trustees greenlit several “enabling projects” that will spur on the pl...

Amount of carbon dioxide in air hits new peak, growing at near-record rate

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:58:47 GMT

The cause of global warming is showing no signs of slowing as heat-trapping carbon dioxide in Earth’s atmosphere increased to record highs in its annual Spring peak, jumping at one of the fastest rates on record, officials announced Monday.Carbon dioxide levels in the air are now the highest they’ve been in more than 4 million years because of the burning of oil coal and gas. The last time the air had similar amounts was during a less hospitable hothouse Earth before human civilization took root, scientists said.The National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration announced that the carbon dioxide level measured in May in Hawaii averaged 424 parts per million. That’s 3 parts per million more than last year’s May average and 51% higher than pre-industrial levels of 280 ppm. It is one of the largest annual May-to-May increases in carbon dioxide levels on record, behind only 2016 and 2019, which had jumps of 3.7 and 3.4 parts per million.“To me as an atmospheric scientist, that trend is ver...

Joe Biden praises Denmark for ‘standing up’ for Ukraine in war with Russia

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:58:47 GMT

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden thanked Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen on Monday for Denmark’s role in a Western alliance “standing up” for Ukraine as it tries to fend off Russia’s 15-month-old invasion.The Oval Office visit kicked off the first of a pair of critical meetings Biden is holding with European allies this week that will focus heavily on what lies ahead in the war in Ukraine —including the recently-launched effort to train, and eventually equip, Ukraine with American-made F-16s fighter jets. Biden on Thursday will meet with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.Both Britain and Denmark are playing a pivotal role in the nascent joint international plan that Biden recently endorsed after months of resisting calls from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for U.S. aircraft.“There’s a shared commitment to the core values and that gives us our strength — at least that’s what I believe,” Biden said. “Together we’re working to protect those values — including standing up for...