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Pipeline damage probe centers on Chinese ship, Finland says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:43:31 GMT

The investigation into the damaged gas pipeline connecting Finland to the rest of Europe is focusing on the role of a Chinese ship, the Finnish National Bureau of Investigation said late Friday.“The movements of the vessel Newnew Polar Bear flying the flag of Hong Kong coincide with the time and place of the gas pipeline damage,” the investigators said in a statement. “For this reason, the investigation is now focused on the role of the said vessel.”The 77-kilometer Balticconnector pipeline, which is key to ensure Finland’s energy security, was switched off last week after the Finnish gas grid’s operator Gasgrid reported that it was leaking.Finnish officials quickly pointed out that the pipes could have been sabotaged, with Prime Minister Petteri Orpo saying the leak was “not exactly the act of an ordinary person.”The incident comes as European countries are increasingly concerned about the vulnerabilities of their energy infrastructure ahead of w...

Biden says Hamas attacks aimed to halt Israel-Saudi accord

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:43:31 GMT

U.S. President Joe Biden said that Hamas’ attacks on Israel were intended in part to scuttle the potential normalization of the U.S. ally’s relations with Saudi Arabia.“One of the reasons Hamas moved on Israel … they knew that I was about to sit down with the Saudis,” Biden said at a campaign event Friday night, according to pool reports. “Guess what? The Saudis wanted to recognize Israel,” the president added.Less than a month ago, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had also expressed optimism about the potential detente, telling Biden that a “historic peace” between the two countries seemed attainable.The normalization push began under former President Donald Trump’s administration and was branded as the Abraham Accords.But Hamas’ brutal Oct. 7 attack on Israel and sustained retaliation from the Israeli Defense Forces in Gaza have pushed the possibility of normalization between Israel and neighboring Arab countries farther from reach.On Saturday, the first 20 trucks ca...

Free fall festivals in San Diego this month

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:43:31 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- Looking for some family-friendly Halloween events? Recreation centers and parks across San Diego are hosting free fall festivals throughout October. You don't have to break the bank to enjoy some spooky fun this season. City officials are inviting San Diegans with kids of all ages to come out for some Halloween-themed fun.From costume contests, outdoor movies, carnivals, trick-or-treating and lots of candy, there are city events on the schedule for almost every day leading up to Tuesday, Oct. 31. Haunted Ghost Town offers immersive experience in North County Here's a look at the upcoming free fall festival events citywide:Balboa Park Spooktacular in Palisades Plaza on Saturday, Oct. 28, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Bay Terraces Community and Senior Center’s Halloween Festival and Trunk O’ Treat on Saturday, Oct. 21, from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Carmel Mountain Ranch/Sabre Springs Recreation Center’s Halloween Carnival on Friday, Oct. 20, from...

CEO of a prominent tech conference resigns amid backlash for public statements over Israel-Hamas war

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:43:31 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Paddy Cosgrave, the chief executive officer of a prominent European tech conference called Web Summit, resigned from his role on Saturday amid backlash for his public statements that suggested Israel was committing war crimes.A spokesperson for Web Summit, which organizes one of the world’s largest tech conferences every year, said in an e-mailed statement sent to The Associated Press that it will appoint a new CEO, and the conference will go ahead next month in Lisbon as planned. Cosgrave, the Irish entrepreneur who is also founder of Web Summit, said in a statement Saturday that his personal comments “have become a distraction from the event, and our team, our sponsors, our startups and the people who attend.”“I sincerely apologise again for any hurt I have caused,” he said.Cosgrave’s resignation is a prominent example of the fallout from the Israel-Hamas war that has spilled into workplaces everywhere, as top leaders of prominent companies weigh in with thei...

Canada commits $50M on humanitarian aid for the Gaza Strip

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:43:31 GMT

The Canadian government announced Saturday it will provide an additional $50 million for humanitarian assistance in the Gaza Strip as the region’s border crossing with Egypt opened to let a trickle of desperately needed aid into the besieged Palestinian territory.International Development Minister Ahmed Hussen issued a statement from Cairo, Egypt, saying the federal government will ensure none of the money goes to Hamas, the militant group that launched a series of terror attacks on Israel two weeks ago.Hussen said the money will be used to provide the Palestinian population with food, water, medical assistance, protection services and other life-saving aid.“The critical and immediate needs of civilians affected by the crisis become clearer with each day that goes by,” Hussen’s statement said.“As Canada’s partners make their growing needs known, this new assistance will allow us to provide them funding quickly so they can scale up their efforts to...

Venezuelans become largest nationality for illegal border crossings as September numbers surge

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:43:31 GMT

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Venezuelans became the largest nationality arrested for illegally crossing the U.S. border, replacing Mexicans for the first time on record, according to figures released Saturday that show September was the second-highest month for arrests of all nationalities.Venezuelans were arrested 54,833 times by the Border Patrol after entering from Mexico in September, more than double from 22,090 arrests in August and well above the previous monthly high of 33,749 arrests in September 2022.Arrests of all nationalities entering from Mexico totaled 218,763 in September, up 21% from 181,084 in August and approaching an all-time high of 222,018 in December 2022, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Arrests for the government’s budget year that ended Sept. 30 topped 2 million for the second year in a row, down 7% from an all-time high of more than 2.2 million arrests in the same period a year earlier.Venezuela plunged into a political, economic and humanitarian...

Woman returns from vacation, finds Atlanta home demolished

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:43:31 GMT

ATLANTA (AP) — A homeowner is mulling the next step after a company mistakenly demolished a home she owned in southwest Atlanta. Susan Hodgson told WAGA-TV on Friday that when she returned from vacation she found a pile of rubble in place of what used to be her longtime family property.“I’m just left with a big ole mess,” Hodgson said.She said a neighbor called her while she was away, and asked if someone had been hired to tear down the vacant house.“I said ‘no’ and she said, ‘Well there’s someone over here who just demolished the whole house and tore the entire house down,’” Hodgson said.When the neighbor confronted them, Hodgson said, the workers got nasty.“He told her to shut up and mind her own business,” Hodgson said.So she sent a family member over to see what was going on and who asked to see a permit. When a person in charge at the site checked his permit, Hodgson says he admitted he was at the wrong address. “It’s been boarded up about 15 years, and we keep it b...

Fire-making 101: Tried and true methods to light a campfire

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:43:31 GMT

SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS) – It’s time for autumn leaves, weekend camping trips, marshmallows with chocolate and graham crackers, and the inevitable reminder that lighting a campfire isn’t as easy as it looks. But these campfire trends from human history can connect you to the spark needed to light your fire and the spark needed to remind us of humanity's roots.This two-part hand drill is common to many ancient societies in the New and Old Worlds. Image: The Methods of Fire-Making by Walter Hugh, published in an 1888 Smithsonian report. In 1892, the Smithsonian Institution published The Methods of Fire-Making by Walter Hough. Hough states there are three methods of making fire by friction on wood: 1) a twirling motion, 2) a sawing motion, and 3) a plowing motion. And though we don’t actually know how long mankind has been starting fires and using those fires to gain an advantage, we do know it made an enormous impact on societies.Twirling motions from human history include simple t...

Man shot, killed Friday in north St. Louis County

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:43:31 GMT

ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. - A homicide investigation is underway after a man was fatally shot Friday afternoon in north St. Louis County. The shooting happened around 5:40 p.m. in the 7000 block of Glenmore Avenue in Velda City. St. Louis man gets $1.25M in ruling over Bayer-Monsanto’s ‘Roundup’ Police say the victim suffered at least one gunshot wound and was found deceased lying in the street. Investigators have not disclosed the victim's name or age. No suspect information is available at this time, and it's unclear what led up to the shooting. This is a developing story. FOX 2 will update as more information becomes available.

St. Louis man gets $1.25M in ruling over Bayer-Monsanto's 'Roundup'

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:43:31 GMT

ST. LOUIS - A jury awarded $1.25 million to a St. Louis man who suffered non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma after using Bayer-Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide. Twelve jurors in the Missouri 22nd Judicial Circuit Court unanimously found Bayer-Monsanto liable for John Durnell’s cancer, and nine of those 12 jurors signed the verdict to award limited damages. The trial resulted in the first verdict against Bayer-Monsanto outside of California, and the first loss for the chemical giant in St. Louis. Brittish Williams – From ‘Basketball Wives’ to guilty plea Since last year, there have been several trials involving Roundup in St. Louis City and St. Louis County. Plaintiffs have argued that longtime exposure to Roundup - specifically the chemical glyphosate -gave them lymphoma and that Monsanto neglected to warn the public of its dangers. OnderLaw, a St. Louis-area law firm that represented Durnell, said he began using the weed killer in 1996 while maintaining his neighborhood grounds fo...