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Storm-damaged eastern US communities clear downed trees and race to restore power

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:36:26 GMT

SILVER SPRING, Md. (AP) — Communities across the eastern United States were clearing away downed trees and power lines Tuesday after severe storms killed at least two people, damaged houses, cut electricity to more than 1.1 million homes and businesses, and canceled or delayed thousands of flights.Forecasters received more than 900 reports of wind damage from Monday’s storms. Nearly 300 of those reports came from North Carolina and South Carolina, according to the Storm Prediction Center.A spokesperson for Maryland’s largest power utility, BGE, called the destruction “catastrophic.”“This is damage that if you worked in electric distribution at BGE for your entire career, you may see it once,” Nick Alexopulos said at a news conference Monday night.The storms spawned tornado watches and warnings in 10 states from Tennessee to New York with more than 29.5 million people under a tornado watch Monday afternoon. A preliminary assessment of damage in Knoxville, Tennessee, found that ...

Friends gather in Philadelphia to remember O’Shae Sibley, killed in a confrontation over dancing

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:36:26 GMT

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Friends and family members gathered Tuesday in Philadelphia to remember O’Shae Sibley, who was fatally stabbed after he confronted teenagers who taunted his group of gay, Black friends as they danced at a New York City gas station.“O’Shae had the power to touch everyone’s heart, whoever met him,” said Otis Pena, a close friend of Sibley’s who was at the gas station and bared his grief hours later in a Facebook video. “O’Shae was a beacon of light for a lot of us in our community.”About 200 people attended Sibley’s funeral at a historic opera house in the city where the 28-year-old Sibley grew up and performed before moving to New York to pursue his career as a dancer. He had performed with the dance company Philadanco and used dance to celebrate his LGBTQ+ identity.Brooklyn prosecutors have charged a 17-year-old high school student with hate-motivated murder in the death of Sibley, who was Black.The stabbing happened after a group of teenagers got int...

Hard-partying Puerto Rico capital faces new code that will limit alcohol sales

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:36:26 GMT

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Puerto Rico’s capital is renowned for its all-night partying, but a new municipal code is expected to change that.San Juan Mayor Miguel Romero on Tuesday signed a new measure to prohibit alcohol sales after certain hours, saying he was “morally convinced” it was the right thing to do.The new code, scheduled to go into effect in November, is expected to affect hundreds of restaurants and bars across San Juan. It was fiercely debated in recent months, with businesses and Puerto Ricans used to long nights and decades of no oversight decrying the new rules, which do not apply to hotels and their guests.Residents in the capital’s historic district known as Old San Juan, which is popular with locals and tourists alike, rejoiced cautiously.“The impression of San Juan is that anything goes,” said Reinaldo Segurola, 71. “It’s a mix between Disney and Las Vegas.”Throngs of people with drinks in hand often crowd the narrow streets of Old San Juan, where businesses ...

DJ Casper, Chicago disc jockey and creator of ‘Cha Cha Slide,’ dies after battle with cancer

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:36:26 GMT

CHICAGO (AP) — Willie Perry Jr., a Chicago disc jockey known as “DJ Casper” and creator of the iconic “Cha Cha Slide” dance, has died. He was 58.Perry was diagnosed with cancer in 2016, and his wife confirmed his death Monday in a statement to WLS-TV.“Casper was a fun-loving, giving person,” his wife, Kim, said in the statement. “He was a genuine, family oriented man. He loved Chicago with all his heart. He will be greatly missed.”His “Cha Cha Slide” continues to be a favorite at weddings, clubs and many other events about two decades after it became popular. Participants typically dance in lines and rows, following commands to a funky beat on when and where to step, stomp, hop and slide.Perry told WLS-TV in a May interview that the “Cha Cha Slide” initially was an aerobic exercise for his nephew who worked at a fitness club. It would go on to become popular in many countries.“From there, it just took off,” he said. “I have one of the biggest songs that’s played at all stadium...

Uvalde shooter’s cousin is arrested over making a school shooting threat, court records say

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:36:26 GMT

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — The teenage cousin of the gunman responsible for the deadly school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, has been arrested after his family told police he was trying to buy a gun and “do the same thing,” court records show. Police in San Antonio took the 17-year-old cousin into custody Monday on charges of making threats to a public place and a family member. He was being held in the Bexar County jail on a $160,000 bond Tuesday, jail records show.According to police and court records, the teen is the cousin of Salvador Ramos, the 18-year-old Uvalde resident who authorities say fatally shot 19 students and two teachers at Robb Elementary School in 2022. Police waited more than an hour to confront and kill Ramos. The charges against the cousin stem from his mother calling police to tell them he was also threatening to open fire at a school and had said he’d shoot his sister, according to an arrest affidavit obtained by local news outlets. The San Antonio Express-News rep...

Hoping to score tickets to see Taylor? Here’s how to avoid a Swift rejection

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:36:26 GMT

TORONTO — Snagging tickets for a Taylor Swift concert can feel like winning the lottery and so it’s no surprise that many Canadian fans hope the odds work out in their favour as ticket sales begin on Wednesday.Last week, the pop superstar announced six concert dates at Toronto’s Rogers Centre in November 2024. And with it being the only Canadian stop on her Eras Tour, seats for the shows are certain to be in hot demand.Here’s what you need to know as the tickets begin to go on sale:1. YOU MUST BE REGISTERED: If you’re looking to grab Swift tickets right out of the gate, you already should’ve enrolled for the “verified fan” sale. Ticketmaster launched the registration process to weed out bots and scalpers, but the sign-up window closed over the weekend. Concertgoers who made the deadline will receive a unique access code on Tuesday with instructions on how to purchase tickets, though their pre-registration code does not guarantee they will ge...

Judge blocks Colorado law raising age to buy a gun to 21

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:36:26 GMT

DENVER (AP) — A federal judge has blocked Colorado from enforcing a new law raising the age to purchase a gun from 18 to 21. U.S. District Judge Philip Brimmer issued a preliminary injunction Monday following a legal challenge by a gun rights group. In a ruling that frequently referenced a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that expanded Second Amendment rights last year, he concluded that the lawsuit brought by Rocky Mountain Gun Owners would likely succeed and barred the state from enforcing the law until the case is resolved. The law was one of four gun control bills signed by Democratic Gov. Jared Polis in April, following the lead of other states trying to confront a surge in violent crime and mass shootings. Last year’s Supreme Court decision in a New York case changed a test lower courts had used for evaluating challenges to gun laws, threatening to upend firearms restrictions across the country. Colorado’s law effectively sought to prevent those between 18 and 20 from buy...

Greece’s coast guard rescues 52 people from migrant sailboat anchored off remote uninhabited island

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:36:26 GMT

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece’s coast guard on Tuesday rescued 52 people crammed onto a sailing boat anchored off an uninhabited island far from the country’s mainland, authorities said. A private vessel initially spotted the sailing boat off the small island of Falconera, officials said. The island is located between Milos and the Peloponnese in an area known for strong currents and rough seas. The migrants were being taken by coast guard vessels later Tuesday to the mainland port of Lavrio, southeast of Athens.Separately Tuesday, 19 people were rescued from a dinghy that had lost steering northeast of the eastern Aegean island of Samos. Another 18 in a different dinghy were picked up later in the day off the same island, while the coast guard said that 14 migrants were rescued Monday from a small boat off the island of Lesbos.In June, a battered trawler smuggling up to 750 people from Libya to Italy sank southwest of Greece in one of the worst Mediterranean migrant disasters ...

Stock market today: Wall Street drops with markets worldwide on worries about banks and the economy

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:36:26 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are tumbling Tuesday as worries about the banking system and the global economy force more caution into financial markets worldwide.The S&P 500 was 0.8% lower in afternoon trading and on track for its fifth loss in the last six days. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 262 points, or 0.7%, at 35,210, as of 2:09 p.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 1.1% lower.In the U.S., bank stocks helped lead the market lower after Moody’s cut the credit ratings for 10 smaller and midsized ones. It cited a list of concerns about their financial strength, from the effects of higher interest rates to the work-from-home trend that’s leaving office buildings vacant.Across the Pacific, stocks sank after a report showed exports for China’s troubled economy shrank by the most since the start of the pandemic in 2020. And in Europe, bank stocks tumbled in Italy after its Cabinet approved a proposal to tax a chunk of their profits this year. The worries laye...

Pilot program seeks to reward companies that better protect temporary foreign workers

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:36:26 GMT

Ottawa is introducing a new three-year pilot program that would incentivize employers to follow worker-protection rules by making it easier for them to hire temporary foreign workers.Under the pilot program, companies with a good track record would only need to prove that they require temporary foreign workers every three years, instead of every 18 months.The employer’s trusted status would also be flagged to potential workers in the government’s job bank.The temporary foreign worker program is designed to attract workers from abroad to fill short-term labour market gaps in cases where no Canadians or permanent residents are available.Employment Minister Randy Randy Boissonnault, who made the announcement today, says employers involved in the pilot program will need to go through a more rigorous upfront assessment.Agricultural companies will be able to apply to be part of the pilot in September, and all other employers will be eligible in January.