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Wildfire in Greece triggers explosions at ammunition depot and relocation of fighter jets

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:14:57 GMT

RHODES, Greece (AP) — A wildfire whipped on by strong winds triggered a series of massive explosions Thursday at an air force ammunition depot in central Greece, and F-16 fighter jets were being moved from a nearby air base as a precaution while firefighters worked to tame multiple blazes in the country.The Greek air force said the military base was not under an immediate threat. The depot was evacuated before the explosions, and no injuries were reported, although continued blasts prevented firefighting teams from approaching the site.Fires have raged across parts of Greece during three successive Mediterranean heat waves in the past two weeks, leaving five people dead, including two firefighting pilots, and triggering a huge weekend evacuation of tourists on the island of Rhodes.The fire in the Volos area of central Greece’s Magnissia region reached the ammunition storage facility about 6 kilometers (4 miles) north of the major military air base in Nea Anchialos. Local media...

Alaska asks US Supreme Court to strike down the rejection of a proposed copper, gold mine

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:14:57 GMT

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — The state of Alaska wants the U.S. Supreme Court to strike down a federal agency’s rejection of a proposed copper and gold mine in southwest Alaska’s Bristol Bay region. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in January blocked the proposed Pebble Mine, citing concerns with potential impacts on a rich aquatic ecosystem that supports the world’s largest sockeye salmon fishery. It was the 14th time in the roughly 50-year history of the federal Clean Water Act that the EPA flexed its powers to bar or restrict activities over their potential impacts on waters, including fisheries.Alaska Attorney General Treg Taylor in a statement Wednesday said having a case heard directly by the Supreme Court rather than first in the lower courts is “an extraordinary ask, but it’s appropriate given the extraordinary decision being challenged.”“The EPA’s order strikes at the heart of Alaska’s sovereignty, depriving the State of its power to regulate its lands and w...

Sign outside Quebec Ukrainian summer camp vandalized with pro-Russian graffiti

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:14:57 GMT

CHERTSEY, Que. — Officials who run a summer camp north of Montreal for Ukrainian children say one of its signs has been vandalized with pro-Russian graffiti.A photo shows the Camp Ste-Sophie sign vandalized with graffiti spelling the words “Russia” and “Wagner” — the name of the Russia-affiliated paramilitary group active in the invasion of Ukraine.Also written on the sign at the entrance of the camp was the letter “Z,” a symbol found on tanks and other Russian military equipment in the Ukrainian war theatre.Simon Kouklewsky, vice-president of the Montreal-based parish that oversees the camp, says a parish member alerted him to the vandalism last Saturday and that camp officials reported the discovery to Quebec provincial police.Rev. Archpriest Volodymyr Kouchnir, who leads the parish, says no children were present at the time the vandalism was discovered because the camp, located in Chertsey, Que., is being renovated.The Ukrainian Canadian Congre...

Trump says his lawyers have met with prosecutors ahead of possible 2020 election indictment

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:14:57 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Lawyers for Donald Trump met Thursday with members of special counsel Jack Smith’s team ahead of a potential indictment over the former president’s efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election, according to a person familiar with the matter.The meeting included Trump lawyer John Lauro, said the person, who spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity to describe a private gathering.Trump himself confirmed the meeting in a post on his Truth Social network, writing, “My attorneys had a productive meeting with the DOJ this morning, explaining in detail that I did nothing wrong, was advised by many lawyers, and that an Indictment of me would only further destroy our Country.”He added that “no indication of notice was given during the meeting.”Trump, the front-runner in the 2024 Republican presidential primary, was informed earlier this month by Smith’s office that he was a target of the Justice Department’s investigation, ...

Judge gives organizers trying to stop ‘Cop City’ a deadline extension for signature campaign

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:14:57 GMT

ATLANTA (AP) — A federal judge on Thursday significantly extended the deadline for Atlanta organizers who have been trying to gather more than 70,000 signatures to force a vote on the construction of a police and firefighter training center that critics call “ Cop City.”U.S. District Judge Mark Cohen ruled that the city had imposed an unlawful requirement that those collecting signatures have to be residents of Atlanta. A group of people who live in DeKalb County just outside the city had sued — saying they should be allowed to join in the canvassing effort and noting that the planned site for the training center itself is in unincorporated DeKalb County, outside the city limits.“Requiring signature gatherers to be residents of the city imposes a severe burden on core political speech and does little to protect the city’s interest in self-governance,” Cohen wrote, adding: “The city has offered no specifics as to why permitting nonresident plaintiffs to gather signatures … will...

Pat Carney, former MP, senator, remembered as kind, ‘wise leader’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:14:57 GMT

VANCOUVER — Pat Carney is being remembered as a life force and a woman who got things done. The former member of Parliament, senator and trailblazer died Tuesday at the age of 88. Former Conservative MP John Reynolds says Carney was someone who was able to work with people to accomplish many goals both in Parliament and the Senate. He says when someone had a problem that needed to be fixed, he suggested they go to Carney. Senator Donna Dasko says in a tweet that Carney was a firm advocate of women’s equality and one of the most forceful women she has ever met. Former Liberal MP Jody Wilson-Raybould says on Twitter that she was saddened to hear of Carney’s death, calling her a “kind, generous and wise leader.” Green Party Leader Elizabeth May says she’s heartbroken over the loss of the “extraordinary woman,” mentor, friend, feminist, and great Canadian. “Such an honour to know her. I will miss her so very much.”This report by The ...

Former British rapper Abdel Bary, accused of heading jihadist cell, is found dead in Spanish prison

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:14:57 GMT

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — A former British rap artist and alleged jihadist has died in custody in Spain, the Interior Ministry said Thursday.Abdel-Majed Abdel Bary was found dead in a Spanish prison Wednesday, the ministry said. The cause of death is yet to be confirmed.Abdel Bary was arrested in 2020, accused of heading a jihadist terror cell. He was facing up to 9 years in prison. A trial was set for sentencing July 14 and he was awaiting verdict.Abdel Bary, 32, left London in 2013 to join an Al Qaeda faction and later ISIS militias in Syria. He made a name for himself on social media sites by showing himself clutching the severed head of one of his alleged victims.Before joining the Jihad, Abdel Bary performed as rapper lyricist under the name Jinn.He was the son of an Egyptian operative of al-Qaeda who was convicted for events related to the 1998 bombings at U.S. embassies in Africa that killed 224 people. Abdel Bary stopped making music not long after his father’s extradition to ...

Republican-led committee calls off vote to hold Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg in contempt

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:14:57 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — A House committee called off a vote Thursday on a recommendation that Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg be held in contempt of Congress for failing to fully supply documents related to an investigation into supposed censorship by tech companies of conservatives.Rep. Jim Jordan, a Republican and chair of the Judiciary Committee, tweeted shortly before the committee was to meet that, “Based on Facebook’s newfound commitment to fully cooperate with the Committee’s investigation, the Committee has decided to hold contempt in abeyance. For now.”Jordan added that contempt is still on the table and would be used if “Facebook fails to cooperate in FULL.”If the committee had moved forward, it would have been up to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., to hold a full House vote on the contempt resolution as early as this fall, after the August recess.If the House were to hold Zuckerberg in contempt, the Justice Department would decide whether to prosecute him.Andy Stone...

Upstate New York Catholic diocese announces $100 million settlement for sexual abuse victims

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:14:57 GMT

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) — The Roman Catholic Diocese of Syracuse on Thursday announced a $100 million settlement with people who say they were sexual abuse victims as part of its bankruptcy proceedings.Catholic dioceses around the state are dealing with a surge of lawsuits dating to when New York temporarily suspended the statute of limitations to give people who say they were victims of childhood sexual abuse the ability to pursue decades-old allegations.“I can tell you as shocking as the settlement amount may seem to leaders of our own parishes and other Catholic entities, more appalling and heart-rending to me is the pain and mistreatment experienced by the survivors of child and adult sexual abuse at the hands of those they thought they could trust,” Bishop Douglas Lucia wrote in an open letter Thursday.The Syracuse diocese, which filed for bankruptcy protection in 2020, said 387 people have filed claims, though the head of a committee of unsecured creditors said there were mo...

Steve McMichael takes a step closer to the Pro Football Hall of Fame

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:14:57 GMT

CANTON, Ohio — One of the most popular and charismatic players in the history of the Chicago Bears is another step closer to Canton. On Thursday afternoon, the Pro Football Hall of Fame announced that Steve McMichael is one of 12 players in the Seniors category that have moved on to the next round of voting for the Class of 2024. Players in this category must have played their last game no later than the 1988 season.The former defensive tackle had been one of 31 semifinalists for that honor in a vote by the Seniors Committee on July 12. Now that same group will meet on August 22 to decide the three players that will be in final consideration for the Class of 2024.McMichael is making his push for the Hall of Fame as he continues his battle with ALS, which he was diagnosed with in January 2021. WGN News Now featured how he's dealing with his daily battle against the disease in July and the push by his wife, Misty, former teammates, and professional wrestlers who are drumming up suppor...