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IAEA head: Increased combat around Ukrainian nuclear plant

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:24 GMT

DNIPRO, Ukraine (AP) — Fighting has intensified near a nuclear power plant in Ukraine that is Europe’s largest, further increasing the possibility of a war-related nuclear accident, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency said Tuesday. “There is an increased level of combat, active combat” in the area of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano, Grossi told The Associated Press in an interview. “My teams there report daily about the attacks, the sound of heavy weaponry. This is practically constant.”Speaking a day before he was to cross the front lines for a second time to visit the plant, Grossi said he felt it was his duty to ramp up talks aimed at safeguarding the facility. He met Monday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and said he would probably head to Russia in the coming days. Grossi has long called for a protection zone to be set up around the plant, which is very near the front line of the war. But so far, an agreemen...

A ‘Clutch’ tip helps Miller, Miami reach 1st Final Four

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:24 GMT

CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) — Jordan Miller took 20 shots in the regional final for Miami and made them all, helping the Hurricanes rally their way into the Final Four. The personification of clutch.Fitting.A guy named Clutch is why he’s at Miami, why Miller has become one of the stars of March Madness — and why the Hurricanes are one of the four men’s teams lucky enough to head to Houston this weekend and see their season stretch into April.It was around this time two years ago when Miami then-assistant coach Bill Courtney’s phone rang with news that Miller had entered the transfer portal and was leaving George Mason. Courtney dove into some tape and began looking into Miller’s background. Turns out, one of Courtney’s old pickup-game buddies from Virginia — Clutch, real name Gary Collins — was Miller’s AAU coach.“The recruitment got pretty simple from there,” said Courtney, now the Hurricanes’ associate head coach.Good thing that recruitment went the way it did, because Miami has...

2 dead in Portugal stabbing at Muslim center

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:24 GMT

LISBON, Portugal (AP) — Portuguese police shot a man suspected of stabbing two people to death at an Ismaili Muslim center in Lisbon, Portugal’s prime minister said Tuesday.Prime Minister Antonio Costa told reporters it was “a criminal act” and that two lives had been lost in the incident Tuesday.The suspect is hospitalized, Costa said.“Everything points to this being an isolated incident,” Costa said, without elaborating. Police made no immediate comment but said they would provide more information later Tuesday.The Associated Press

Man seriously injured after being struck by vehicle in Mississauga

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:24 GMT

A man is in hospital with serious injuries after he was struck by a vehicle in Mississauga.Peel police and paramedics responded to the scene at Ridgeway and Unity drives near Highway 403 around 3:30 a.m. on Tuesday.The driver remained at the scene.The area is closed to traffic as police investigate.

Honda recalls more than 330,000 vehicles due to mirror issue

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:24 GMT

Honda is recalling more than 330,000 vehicles because heating pads behind both side-view mirrors may not be bonded properly, which could lead to the mirror glass falling out and increase the risk of a crash.Vehicles included in the recall are 2020-2022 Odyssey, 2020-2022 Passport, 2020-2021 Pilot and 2020-2021 Ridgeline. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said that the vehicles don’t comply with the necessary rear visibility requirements.Honda dealers will replace the side-view mirrors on impacted vehicles free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be sent out on May 8. Vehicle owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138 or the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236.The Associated Press

Warehouse fire kills 11 people in China’s northern province

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:24 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — Chinese authorities were investigating the cause of a fire that broke out Monday at an abandoned refrigerated warehouse in the country’s industrial province Hebei and killed 11 people, the local government said Tuesday. The government in Cang County said the blaze started Monday afternoon when the structure at a village in the northern province was being dismantled. Firefighters extinguished the fire at about 11 p.m. and the rescue team pulled 11 people from the scene but none showed any vital signs, its statement read. The provincial officials were highly concerned about the incident, it added. The Associated Press

Report: Renewable energy growth falls short of climate goal

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:24 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — Deployment of new wind and solar power plants needs to be drastically ramped up by the end of the decade to meet the world’s climate goals, the International Renewable Energy Agency said Tuesday.In an advance preview of its annual report on the global shift from fossil fuels to clean energy, the agency said renewables accounted for 83% of new power generation last year. Worldwide, the share of installed power generation coming from renewables reached 40% in 2022, it said.But in order to halve greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and put the world on track to cap global warming at 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit), existing targets for renewable power deployment would need to be more than doubled, the Abu Dhabi-based agency said.Governments agreed in the 2015 Paris climate accord to limit the global temperature rise to 2 C (3.6 F) — ideally no more than 1.5 C — above pre-industrial averages. The lower target would prevent significant harm from climate chang...

Push in states for $20 minimum wage as inflation persists

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:24 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Just years after labor activists persuaded a handful of states to raise their minimum wage to $15 per hour, workers initially thrilled with the pay bump are finding their hard-won gains erased by inflation.New York City resident Anthony Rivera, 20, who sorts packages at a United Parcel Service facility in Brooklyn, said he had to take a second job at a grocery store after his food costs soared.“I was sitting at $15 an hour at UPS, and when it came to paying bills and buying groceries, it was starting to become not enough,” he said. “That led me to no other option than to pick up another job.” New York, California and Massachusetts are among states where pro-labor forces are now pushing proposals that, if approved, would boost minimum wages to $20 or more in the coming years.Inflation has meant that something that cost $15 in 2012 — when labor activists adopted the “Fight for $15” slogan in a push for wage hikes — would probably cost almost $20 today, according to...

Chicago police warn after several armed robberies across the city

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:24 GMT

CHICAGO — Chicago police are warning residents after a string of armed robberies that have occurred across the city in the last week.The incidents have taken place across several police districts at many different hours of the day.Police said a group of three to four teens, ranging in ages 15 to 17, approach people, show a hand gun and demand items.Police have not released a detailed description of the people responsible.

Surveillance video shows shooter enter Nashville school

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:24 GMT

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Newly released video shows the moments a shooter made their way into a Nashville school Monday.The Metro Nashville Police Department released surveillance video Monday night of the shooting at The Covenant School in Green Hills. 6 victims in Covenant School shooting identified; all 3 students were 9 years old Seven people, including the suspect, died in the shooting. The shooter has been identified as 28-year-old Audrey Hale.According to Metro police, Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs and William Kinney, all 9 years old, were the students killed in the shooting. Manifesto, school ‘maps’ found in home of suspected Covenant shooter Audrey Hale, police say Three staff members killed have also been identified: Katherine Koonce, 60, and Cynthia Peak and Mike Hill, both 61.Metro police said the shooting began at 10:13 a.m. as Hale entered the school by shooting through a side door and going from the first floor to the second floor, firing multiple shots.P...