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Judge cancels Montana gas plant permit over climate impacts

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:02:31 GMT

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A judge canceled the air quality permit for a natural gas power plant that’s under construction along the Yellowstone River in Montana citing worries over climate change.State District Judge Michael Moses ruled Thursday that Montana officials failed to adequately consider the 23 million tons of planet-warming greenhouse gases that the project would emit over several decades. Many utilities across the U.S. have replaced coal power with less polluting natural gas plants in recent years. But the industry remains under pressure to abandon fossil fuels altogether as climate change worsens.The $250 million plant is being built by Sioux Falls, South Dakota-based NorthWestern Energy and would operate for at least 30 years. The company will appeal the order, a spokesperson said in a statement Friday, saying that the ruling could jeopardize reliable power service.Montana officials had argued they had no authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. They also said that...

3 killed in Northern Italy after car crashes into farm silo

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:02:31 GMT

ROME (AP) — Three people were killed at a farm in Northern Italy when their car crashed into a silo, which collapsed and buried the vehicle under an enormous mound of chicken feed, local police and firefighters said Friday.The victims were an 18-year-old and two minors, according to the communications office of the fire department in Forli’, a small town near Bologna. It was unclear how fast the car was going when it crashed.The Forli’ police department could not immediately provide information on the victims’ ages and nationalities. Italian media reported they were North African.Forli’ is in the region of Emilia-Romagna, which borders the Adriatic Sea. The farm where the crash took place, called Casagrande, breeds more than two million chickens per year and produces eggs, fruit, cereals, according to the farm’s website.The Associated Press

Pentagon reviewing whether Ukraine war documents were leaked

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:02:31 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Defense Department is reviewing a handful of documents that were released on several social media sites and appear to detail U.S. and NATO aid to Ukraine, but may have been altered or used as part of a misinformation campaign.The documents, which were posted on sites such as Twitter, are labeled secret and resemble routine updates that the U.S. military’s Joint Staff would produce daily but not distribute publicly. They are dated ranging from Feb. 23 to March 1, and provide what appears to be details on the progress of weapons and equipment going into Ukraine with more precise timelines and amounts than the U.S. generally provides publicly.They are not war plans and they provide no details on any planned Ukraine offensive. And some inaccuracies — including estimates of Russian troops deaths that are significantly lower than numbers publicly stated by U.S. officials — have led some to question the documents’ authenticity.“It is very important to reme...

US to test expedited asylum screenings at Mexico border

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:02:31 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Migrants who enter the United States illegally will be screened by asylum officers while in custody under a limited experiment that provides them access to legal counsel, the Department of Homeland Security said Friday.The new approach will start with a tiny number of migrants next week. Officials said the trial run is part of preparations for the end of a pandemic-related rule expected on May 11 that has suspended rights to seek asylum for many. If expanded, the new screening could bring major change to how people are processed upon reaching U.S. soil to seek asylum.Homeland Security officials said they will begin working with a legal services provider they declined to name that will represent asylum-seekers at initial screenings, known as “credible fear hearings.” Access to legal representation will be critical to the plan moving ahead, according to the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss details that have not been publicly announced.The scr...

Israeli authorities say attack wounds at least 7 in Tel Aviv

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:02:31 GMT

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli authorities said late Friday that at least seven people were wounded in a suspected attack in Tel Aviv, Israel’s commercial hub. The exact nature of the attack was not immediately clear, but the Israeli Foreign Ministry referred to it as a “terror attack,” a term Israeli officials use for assaults by Palestinians. Israeli police said a car rammed into a group of people near a popular seaside park before flipping over. Police said they shot the driver of the car. Israel’s rescue service described the incident as a shooting attack. The attack came against the backdrop of heightened tensions after Israeli airstrikes on Palestinian militant targets in both Lebanon and Gaza, as well as a shooting attack in the occupied West Bank that killed two Israelis.THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel unleashed rare airstrikes on Lebanon and bombarded the Gaza Strip on Friday, an escalation that spar...

Biden sports plan angers transgender advocates, opponents

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:02:31 GMT

A Biden administration proposal to forbid outright bans on transgender athletes sparked outrage from conservative leaders while also angering trans rights activists who note schools could still prevent some athletes from participating on teams that align with their gender identity.The proposed rule, which still faces a lengthy approval process, establishes that blanket bans, like those that have been approved in at least 20 states, would violate Title IX, the landmark gender-equity legislation enacted in 1972. But schools could still adopt policies that limit transgender students’ participation, particularly in more competitive high school and college sports.Under the proposal, it would be much more difficult for schools to ban, for example, a transgender girl in elementary school from playing on a girls basketball team. But it would also leave room for schools to develop policies that prohibit trans athletes from playing on more competitive teams if those policies are designe...

Man dies after bringing barbecue inside during power outage, Quebec premier says

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:02:31 GMT

MONTREAL — Quebec Premier Francois Legault says a man died this morning after bringing his barbecue indoors during a power outage caused by this week’s ice storm.The death in Ste-Eustache, Que., is the third attributed to Wednesday’s storm, which coated parts of southern Quebec and eastern Ontario in ice and left more than a million without power.As of this afternoon, crews in both provinces were working to restore power to more than 500,000 customers, mostly in Quebec.Legault did not say how the third man died, but Montreal’s health authority said dozens of people suffered from carbon monoxide poisoning after using outdoor appliances inside during the blackout.Officials say they received more than 60 reports of CO poisoning over the course of several hours today, while emergency rooms were at 200 per cent capacity.   Legault announced the latest death while touring Les Coteaux, Que., where another man died while attempting to cut down tree branches on his property...

Blast at north Iraqi airport raises tension in Kurdish area

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:02:31 GMT

BAGHDAD (AP) — An explosion struck next to the Suleimaniyah International Airport in northern Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish region Friday, local officials said.The blast came days after Turkey closed its airspace to flights to and from the airport, citing an alleged increase in Kurdish militant activity threatening flight safety.Turkey has spent years fighting Kurdish militants in its east. Large Kurdish communities also live in neighboring Iraq and Syria where they have a degree of self-rule.The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a U.K.-based opposition war monitor, and some local media reported that the explosion was a Turkish drone attack on Mazloum Abdi, the leader of the Syrian Democratic Forces, the main U.S.-backed and Kurdish-led force in Syria.Officials with the SDF and the Kurdish regional government in northeast Syria denied that Abdi was in Suleimaniyah at the time or had been the target of an attack. Fethullah al-Husseini, a representative of the Kurdish self-rule ad...

Mayor-elect Johnson meets with Gov. Pritzker

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:02:31 GMT

CHICAGO — Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson continues his tour to meet local leaders, including Governor JB Pritzker. The meeting is expected to take place Friday at the State building. Johnson met with former mayor Lori Lightfoot Thursday for more than an hour in a closed-door meeting. Johnson shared that Lightfoot gave him advice to seize the moment and enjoy the opportunity to lead the city. Mayor-elect Johnson meets Mayor Lightfoot ahead of inauguration Lightfoot also promised Johnson a smooth transition of power. Pritzker and Johnson are expected to meet at 1 p.m. Friday with Johnson's inauguration next month.

NHL's Pride nights collide with LGBTQ+ political climate

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:02:31 GMT

Sports leagues and teams often use Pride nights to raise the visibility and acceptance of LGBTQ+ people — as well as sell them tickets — and the NHL has been a leader. They can include special jerseys designed by LGBTQ+ artists, performances, information tables, even drag performances. And they're largely a hit.But seven NHL players recently opted out of wearing rainbow-colored jerseys on their teams' Pride nights for the first time, leading the league's commissioner to say it is weighing the future of the events.That worries some fans and LGBTQ+ supporters, who say it's a sign that a political climate that has led to restrictions on expression, health care and transgender sports participation both in the U.S. and internationally is now threatening events that are meant to be fun and affirming. Roger Powell Jr. named Valparaiso men’s basketball coach “It’s definitely fair to say that this political landscape is helping to sort of normalize people for opting out of the op...