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West African leaders meet on Niger coup but have few options as a military junta defies mediation

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:41:08 GMT

NIAMEY, Niger (AP) — West African heads of state began meeting Thursday on next steps after Niger’s military junta defied their deadline to reinstate the nation’s deposed president, but analysts say the bloc known as ECOWAS may be running out of options as support fades for a military intervention.Nine of the 11 heads of state expected to attend were present, including the presidents of Senegal, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Togo, Benin, Guinea-Bissau and Sierra Leone. The non-ECOWAS leaders of Mauritania and Burundi also participated in the closed-door meeting in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja.“It is crucial that we prioritize diplomatic negotiations and dialogue as the bedrock of our approach,” said Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who currently chairs the bloc, said before the closed part of the meeting. He said leaders must act with a “sense of urgency,” though appeared to retreat from the bloc’s earlier threat to use force.As Niger’s junta turns away most efforts a...

Putin profits off US and European reliance on Russian nuclear fuel

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:41:08 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. and its European allies are importing vast amounts of nuclear fuel and compounds from Russia, providing Moscow with hundreds of millions of dollars in badly needed revenue as it wages war on Ukraine.The sales, which are legal and unsanctioned, have raised alarms from nonproliferation experts and elected officials who say the imports are helping to bankroll the development of Moscow’s nuclear arsenal and are complicating efforts to curtail Russia’s war-making abilities. The dependence on Russian nuclear products — used mostly to fuel civilian reactors — leaves the U.S. and its allies open to energy shortages if Russian President Vladimir Putin were to cut off supplies. The challenge is likely to grow more intense as those nations seek to boost production of emissions-free electricity to combat climate change.“We have to give money to the people who make weapons? That’s absurd,” said Henry Sokolski, executive director of the Washington-based Nonproliferation...

Emmy Awards postponed to January 2024 as Hollywood strikes continue

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:41:08 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The strike-delayed 75th Emmy Awards have a new home — one that places them squarely within Hollywood's awards season, for a change.Fox announced Thursday that the Emmys will air Jan. 15 from the Peacock Theater at LA Live in downtown Los Angeles. The show will air on the Martin Luther King, Jr., holiday. The timing means that the Emmys, which honor the best shows on television, will air weeks before the Screen Actors Guild Awards, which honors film and television actors. Numerous other shows like the Golden Globe Awards, which haven't been confirmed for a return to network television, and the Critics Choice Awards, also are held in January.The ceremony will happen roughly four months later than originally planned. While the move is a bit of a throwback — the first Emmys, where only six awards were handed out, were held in January 1949, the Emmys traditionally air in September, a slot that once heralded the upcoming fall television season. But that timing dates bac...

Thomas took dozens of trips paid for by billionaire friends: Report

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:41:08 GMT

(The Hill) - Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has taken dozens of trips paid for by at least four billionaire friends during his time on the bench, a new report from ProPublica found.The report expands upon ProPublica’s previous investigation into Thomas’s relationship with Harlan Crow, a GOP megadonor who gifted the justice with vacations, flights and even paid for his mother’s house in Georgia. ProPublica’s newest story sheds additional light on the two men’s friendship and details trips Thomas purportedly accepted from three other billionaires: former Berkshire Hathaway executive David Sokol, oil businessman Paul “Tony” Novelly and H. Wayne Huizenga, who helped expand Blockbuster.The report detailed how Thomas’s friends footed the bills for at least 38 destination vacations, 26 private jet flights and eight helicopter flights. Besides travel costs, billionaires paid for 12 VIP passes to sporting events, two resort stays in Florida and Jamaica and one...

Travelers return to O'Hare from Hawaii amid deadly fires

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:41:08 GMT

CHICAGO -- One of the first flights from Hawaii landed in Chicago Thursday morning as the deadly fires burn through Hawaii.An Illinois resident who landed at O'Hare Thursday morning was one of the first travelers to leave Maui as the fire spread throughout the island."We had power outage for about 36 hours, there were hurricane winds. It was really bad," Mark Mautino from Spring Valley, Illinois said.Mautino said it looked like a bomb went off. Lahaina Maui, Photo Courtesy of Mark MuatinoAt least 36 people have died from the fires. Some people were fortunate enough to jump in the Pacific Ocean to escape the smoke and flames. Mautino said due to the power outage the resort he was staying at started grilling burgers and chicken to feed guests. At least 36 dead on Maui as fires burn through Hawaii, county reports | WGN-TV (wgntv.com)He tried to leave Hawaii earlier but couldn't because so many roads were closed. Mautino said Wednesday morning a north road opened through a one road moun...

Did the banyan tree in Hawaii's historic Lahaina Town survive the wildfire?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:41:08 GMT

(NEXSTAR) – A wildfire has caused sheer devastation in Hawaii’s Lahaina Town, and the fate of what is believed to be the largest banyan tree in the United States has been left uncertain. According to Nexstar's KHON, Lahaina means “the cruel sun” in Olelo Hawaii, and residents have historically embraced its traditional sunny climate. But in recent days, heat from a different source has claimed lives and threatened to destroy major landmarks in one of the state's most historic cities and the one-time capital of the former kingdom. The wildfire, sparked Tuesday, quickly spread throughout the western Maui community of less than 13,000 residents, causing the deaths of at least 36 people and damaging or destroying hundreds of structures. Lahaina: Yesterday and today It’s feared that the fire consumed much of historic Front Street, home to restaurants, bars and stores, as well as other parts of Lahaina.Maui officials said the banyan — a fig tree located in Banyan Court Park w...

LIVE: BCSO investigating after three people found dead in hole

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:41:08 GMT

BASTROP COUNTY, Texas -- The Bastrop County Sheriff's Office is investigating after three people fell into a well, BCSO confirmed to KXAN Wednesday.BCSO later confirmed all three bodies were recovered including two men and one woman, as well as one dog. The agency will hold a news conference with more details Thursday morning at 9 a.m., BCSO said.The Austin Fire Department confirmed it responded to a recovery at a hole on New Trail near County Road 461. AFD said the hole was filled with hydrogen sulfide or sewer gas.The Bastrop County Sheriff's Office is investigating after three people were found dead in a hole on Wednesday, Aug. 9. | Andy Way/KXAN NewsThe Bastrop County Sheriff's Office is investigating after three people were found dead in a hole on Wednesday, Aug. 9. | Andy Way/KXAN NewsThe Bastrop County Sheriff's Office is investigating after three people were found dead in a hole on Wednesday, Aug. 9. | Andy Way/KXAN NewsAFD said it had to ventilate the hole before anyone can...

Schools struggle to find money, hire more officers after lawmakers gut safety bill

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:41:08 GMT

JARRELL, Texas (KXAN) – After a mass shooting killed 19 children and two teachers at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, a school district four hours away in Jarrell started the process of getting shatterproof film on the windows of its high school.The invoice, according to the superintendent, was $50,000. Jarrell Middle School campus (KXAN Photo/Chris Nelson)With the passage of the state’s latest school safety bill, House Bill 3, lawmakers handed districts new requirements to place one armed officer on every school campus and bring campuses up to new safety standards. But some districts KXAN spoke with are struggling to come up with the money and personnel to comply with the new law by the time it goes into effect Sept. 1. “Everybody recognizes safety for our children is the number one priority. We all say it — but to prove that, the dollars have to follow,” Jarrell ISD Superintendent Dr. Toni Hicks said. The price of safetyThe original bill authored by Rep. Joe Moody, D-El Paso, ...

Plum Hopper fire in Caldwell County 100% contained

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:41:08 GMT

CALDWELL COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) -- A fire in Caldwell County is now 100% contained after approximately 200 acres burned, according to an update from the Texas A&M Forest Service. The Caldwell County Sheriff's Office initially posted about the fire, called the Plum Hopper Fire, on social media Wednesday afternoon, saying it was reported shortly before 3:30 p.m. on Dickerson Road.The fire burned 200 acres and is now 100% contained, per an update from the Forest Service at 2:08 a.m. Thursday. Common wildfire terms and what they mean, per the Texas A&M Forest Service A 7:46 a.m. update from CCSO on social media said the fire was not controlled, meaning firefighters hadn't yet completely extinguished the fire. Caldwell County fire crews were on the scene overnight and didn't report any flare-ups, according to the post. The sheriff's office said one firefighter was treated for heat exhaustion overnight.

City of Georgetown buys space for future park

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:41:08 GMT

GEORGETOWN, Texas (KXAN) – The City of Georgetown said Wednesday it acquired 35 acres of parkland near the intersection of SE Inner Loop and Southwestern Boulevard. It said the land will go towards a future park on the southeast side of the city that was identified as a priority in both the 2009 and 2022 Parks Master plans.The city purchased the land for $6 million with money from several funding sources, the city said. The money came from a 2008 bond, parkland dedication fees and a donation from the Friends of Georgetown Parks via proceeds from Two Step Inn.Development of the park is several years out and the agreement allows the sellers a seven-year leaseback, according to the city. The city said that will give it the time to develop a park master plan, which will include input from the public on possible amenities and features for the new park, and to develop a plan to fund the improvements.“Creating a park on the southeast side of Georgetown has been a community and City priorit...