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A story about a deadly TikTok boat-jumping challenge went viral. Then it fell apart

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:40:59 GMT

As the July 4 holiday approached, a local news report in Alabama warned of a deadly TikTok challenge that involved jumping from a speeding boat.“Last six months, we have had four drownings that were easily avoidable,” Jim Dennis, captain of the Childersburg Rescue Team, told the local ABC affiliate station in Birmingham, Alabama, in a story that aired July 3.“They were doing a TikTok challenge.”National and international news outlets snapped up the report, cautioning about the trend. But Alabama’s main public safety agency says while there have been boating fatalities this year, no such deaths have been reported.A spokesperson for TikTok also says no boat jumping challenge is trending on its platform.A closer look at the factsFour people attempting a viral TikTok challenge have died jumping from moving boats in Alabama recently.The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, which oversees the state’s public safety agencies, tweeted on Monday to dispel the vi...

Lawyers cast doubt on phone data linking Ali to alleged scene of B.C. teen’s killing

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:40:59 GMT

VANCOUVER — Lawyers for Ibrahim Ali, who’s accused of murdering a 13-year-old girl in a Burnaby, B.C., park six years ago, have been trying to cast doubt on the reliability of cellphone data suggesting his phone was in the vicinity at the time of the killing.The jury in the British Columbia Supreme Court trial has heard testimony over the past two weeks about cellphones associated with Ali and the girl, who cannot be identified because of a publication ban.Don Calpito, an expert in cellular coverage with Telus Communications, says things like tall buildings or capacity issues might degrade a signal and cause a phone to connect through different cell towers.The jury heard earlier this week from a Bell employee that the number police say belonged to a phone Ali was carrying when he was arrested made calls that were connected through a tower near Central Park on the night the girl was found dead there in July 2017. David Mak, a senior investigator with Rogers Communications, mean...

Prosecutor in Argentina launches investigation into alleged human rights crimes in Venezuela

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:40:59 GMT

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — A prosecutor in Argentina has launched an investigation into potential crimes against humanity in Venezuela following a criminal complaint filed by the Clooney Foundation for Justice.Federal prosecutor Carlos Stornelli noted that the complaint pointed to the responsibility of several high-ranking members of the Venezuelan National Guard in human rights abuses during 2014 street protests against the government of President Nicolás Maduro.The move by the foundation set up by actor George Clooney and his wife, human rights lawyer Amal Clooney, marks the latest effort to use Argentina’s legal system and the principle of universal jurisdiction to prosecute crimes against humanity committed elsewhere.The foundation chose Argentina to file its complaint because the country’s justice system has already applied the principle of universal jurisdiction to investigate alleged crimes against humanity committed in Spain and Myanmar.The Clooney Foundation for J...

Northern lights might be visible this week, but most of the U.S. won’t see them

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:40:59 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — The northern lights could put on a show this week — though the audience will be much smaller than some early forecasts had suggested.The sky spectacle will be fairly typical: Stretches of Canada have a chance to spot the shimmering curtain of the aurora borealis, while a few in the U.S. could see a faint reddish glow on the horizon. Here’s what to know about the updated predictions.WHO CAN SEE THE LIGHTS THIS WEEK?An early forecast by the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute, using data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, suggested that the northern lights could be visible much farther south than usual this week. But that forecast was based on long-term predictions about the solar activity responsible for the display. Forecasts using more current data from NOAA predict nothing special for the U.S. “For the same reasons that it’s hard to predict weather on Earth, it’s hard to predict weather in space,” said Northeastern Univ...

Interior Department official with key role in Colorado River talks is stepping down

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:40:59 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — A senior Interior Department official who has had a key role in negotiations over the shrinking Colorado River plans to step down from the job next week. Tanya Trujillo told the department of her intention to resign as assistant secretary for water and science about six weeks ago and her last day is Monday, she told The Associated Press. Trujillo, who has served in the role since June 2021, said it made sense to leave now as the Biden administration gears up for a reelection campaign. “It’s a normal transition time, either committing to staying to the end of the (presidential) term or leaving before the campaign really gets fired up,” she said. “I am really, really proud and happy about all the accomplishments that we put into place and made.” The Interior Department declined to offer further comment on her departure. Trujillo oversaw the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and played an important role in discussions between the federal government, seven U.S. states and Nat...

A heat wave has baked parts of the Southwest for weeks. Forecasters warn it’s not cooling soon

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:40:59 GMT

PHOENIX (AP) — Millions of people across the Southwest are living through a historic heat wave, with even the heat-experienced desert city of Phoenix being tested since temperatures have hit 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43 degrees Celsius) for more than a dozen consecutive days.More than 111 million people across the United States were under extreme heat advisories, watches and warnings, The National Weather Service reported Wednesday. Huge swaths of Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California were experiencing temperatures above 90 degrees F (32 C).“To underscore just how expansive this heat is, based off the current forecast approximately 27 million people across the Lower 48 (states) will experience an air temperature or heat index above 110 (degrees F) over the next 7 days,” the National Weather Service said in a separate bulletin. “It is imperative users take action to limit their exposure to the oppressive hot weather as it looks to stick around for the time being.”Forecast...

Messi mania engulfs Miami ahead of Argentine soccer superstar’s arrival

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:40:59 GMT

MIAMI (AP) — A hamburger and drink combination called the Lionel Messi. A huge sketch of the soccer star’s smiling face on a restaurant wall beside a viral meme from the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. A beer with a pink label matching the color of the Inter Miami jersey he will wear.Wherever you turn in Miami these days something reminds you of the imminent arrival of the Argentine soccer legend.There is no hiding the euphoria generated by Messi in Miami as he begins the new Major League Soccer phase of his career in one of the most Latino cities in the United States. But his arrival is also bringing a note of sadness as fans know that at age 36 he is nearing the end of his career.Messi announced on June 7 that he will play for Inter Miami in a move that is expected to revitalize soccer in the United States and South Florida with one of the sporting world’s best-known figures. More than 100,000 Argentines live in Miami, which will host World Cup matches in 2026.The seven-time winner of th...

North Korea’s Kim vows to boost his nuke capability after observing new ICBM launch

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:40:59 GMT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un vowed to further bolster his country’s nuclear fighting capabilities as he supervised the country’s second test-flight of a new intercontinental ballistic missile designed to strike the mainland U.S., state media reported Thursday.Kim’s statement suggests North Korea would ramp up weapons testing activities to expand its arsenals in response to recent U.S. steps to enhance its security commitment to ally South Korea.“The present unstable situation in which the security environment on the Korean peninsula is being seriously threatened by the hostile forces every moment,” Kim said, according to state media. “(That) requires more intense efforts to implement the line of bolstering nuclear war deterrent.”The Korean Central News Agency disclosed Kim’s comments, after confirming the North conducted a successful launch of the Hwasong-18 ICBM on Wednesday. The launch was first reported by its neighbors soon after its liftoff.The Hwas...

Solar storm on Thursday expected to make Northern Lights visible in limited U.S. states

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:40:59 GMT

A solar storm forecast for Thursday is expected to give skygazers in some states along the U.S.-Canada border a faint glimpse of the Northern Lights which — at their peak — produce a colorful sky show when solar wind hits the atmosphere. Northern Lights, also known as aurora borealis, are most often seen in Alaska, Canada and Scandinavia, but an 11-year solar cycle that’s expected to peak in 2024 has the potential to make the lights visible in places farther to the south. Three months ago, the light displays were visible in Arizona, marking the third severe geomagnetic storm since the current solar cycle began in 2019.The Geophysical Institute at the University of Alaska Fairbanks has forecast auroral activity on Thursday, based on long-term outlook.Auroral activity also has been forecast for Canada.Those in small slices of the contiguous U.S. — including parts of Wisconsin, Michigan and Montana — could also get a peek. But for them, the aurora will probably be a “faint glow on the ...

Trump lashes out after Justice Department no longer says presidency shields him from defamation suit

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:40:59 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Former President Donald Trump lashed out on social media against the U.S. Justice Department on Wednesday after it stopped supporting his claim that the presidency shields him from liability against a defamation lawsuit brought by a woman who says he sexually attacked her in the mid-1990s. Trump said in a post on his social media platform that the department’s reversal a day earlier in the lawsuit brought by advice columnist E. Jean Carroll was part of the “political Witch Hunt” he faces while campaigning for the presidency as a Republican.The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Carroll, 79, sued Trump, 77, for defamation months after he vehemently denied her claims first made publicly in a 2019 memoir that a chance encounter between the pair at a Bergdorf Goodman store began with flirtations but ended in a violent encounter inside a dressing room in a desolate section of the store.The progression of the lawsuit, filed in 202...