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Alberta government dismisses board at Banff Centre, replaces with administrator

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:36:16 GMT

BANFF, Alta. — The Alberta government has dismissed the entire board of the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity and replaced it with a temporary administrator.The centre in the mountain town of Banff, west of Calgary, develops and promotes creative work in the arts, sciences, business and the environment.The government says in a statement late Thursday that it’s supporting the centre as it focuses on its mandate while “strengthening its future competitiveness and sustainability.”It says the temporary administrator, Paul Baay, will review the internal processes and policies at the Banff Centre over the next six to nine months, and take on the responsibilities of the board of governors until a new chair and board can be appointed.Baay, who’s president and chief executive officer of Touchstone Exploration Inc., has worked for various oil and gas companies in the past 25 years.He has also served on numerous boards and is the current chairman of the Alberta Found...

Four Gulf of Mexico federal tracts designated for wind power development by Biden administration

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:36:16 GMT

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Four tracts of federal Gulf of Mexico waters of the coasts of Texas and Louisiana, ranging in size from nearly 57,000 acres (23,100 hectares) to over 495,000 acres (200,230 hectares), were designated Thursday for development of wind energy by the Biden administration. Friday’s announcement follows the first Gulf sale of leases for wind development earlier this year. That sale drew a $5.6 million bid from one company for one Gulf tract, a modest start for wind energy in the Gulf, which lags behind the Northeast in offshore wind power development.The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management announcement said its next step will be to issue a formal notice for a proposed lease sale, which will be followed by a 60-day comment period.The areas designated on Friday: — 495,567 acres (200,549 hectares) about 47 miles (76 kilometers) off the coast of Texas that could support wind power generation for 2.1 million homes.— 119,635 acres (48,415 hectares) about 61 miles (98 kilometers...

Spain’s report on Catholic Church sex abuse estimates victims could number in hundreds of thousands

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:36:16 GMT

MADRID (AP) — Spain’s first official probe of sex abuse by clergy members or other people connected to the Catholic Church in the country included a survey that indicated that the number of victims could run into hundreds of thousands.The survey was part of a damning report by the office of Spain’s ombudsman, or “defensor del pueblo,” following an 18-month independent investigation of 487 cases involving alleged victims who spoke with the ombudsman’s team.Ombudsman Ángel Gabilondo criticized the church’s response to sex abuse scandals, saying it had often been to minimize if not deny the problem. He presented the nearly 800-page report to the speaker of the Spanish parliament’s lower house Friday and then to reporters.“This is a necessary report to respond to a situation of suffering and loneliness that for years has remained, in one way or another, covered by an unfair silence,” Gabilondo said in a statement, He acknowledged that the church had taken steps to address both abuse by ...

UN General Assembly set to vote on nonbinding resolution calling for a `humanitarian truce’ in Gaza

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:36:16 GMT

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. General Assembly scheduled a vote Friday on a nonbinding resolution calling for a “humanitarian truce” in Gaza leading to a cessation of hostilities between Israel and Gaza’s Hamas rulers.Jordan’s U.N. Ambassador Mahmoud Hmoud, speaking on behalf of the U.N.’s 22-nation Arab group, which drafted the resolution, called for an afternoon vote before all 112 speakers get to the assembly’s rostrum, because of the urgency of taking action.The Arab group is seeking action by the 193-member world body because of the failure of the more powerful 15-member Security Council to agree on a resolution after four attempts.Unlike the Security Council, there are no vetoes in the General Assembly so the resolution is certain to be adopted. While council resolutions are legally binding, assembly resolutions are not, but they do serve as a barometer of world opinion.It would be the first response from the United Nations to Hamas’ surprise Oct. 7 attacks on Israel an...

Catalytic converter theft claims fell in first half of year, first time in 3 years, State Farm says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:36:16 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — The number of catalytic converter theft claims dropped in the first half of this year, the first time that’s happened since 2019, according to data from insurance company State Farm.Thefts of catalytic converters have become problematic nationwide in recent years. Once stolen, they are often melted down for their valuable metals.State Farm said that there were approximately 14,500 claims from Jan. 1 through June 30. That compares with more than 23,000 catalytic converter theft claims during the same period a year ago.State Farm attributes the decline to several factors, including media coverage of the issue, more legislative efforts and declining metal prices.The Associated Press

DC Murder suspect who escaped police custody recaptured after seven weeks on the run

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:36:16 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Police have recaptured a murder suspect who escaped custody in September, forcing an hours-long shelter-in-place order at George Washington University.Washington’s Metropolitan Police Department announced that Christopher Haynes, 30, was arrested Thursday by the U.S. Marshals Service’s Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force in nearby Oxon Hill, Maryland. Haynes was originally arrested on Sept. 6 in connection with the Aug. 12 murder of 33-year-old Brent Hayward at a northeast D.C. gas station. But shortly after his arrest, Haynes complained of an ankle injury and was taken by officers to George Washington University Hospital.While he was being handcuffed to a hospital gurney, police said Haynes assaulted an officer and fled, leading to the shelter-in-place order on the university campus and an extended manhunt. MPD chief Pamela Smith later acknowledged that the officers had not properly secured Haynes, providing an opportunity for his escape.Police later r...

Tammy has redeveloped into a tropical storm over the Atlantic Ocean, forecasters say

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:36:16 GMT

MIAMI (AP) — Tammy has redeveloped Friday into a tropical storm over the Atlantic Ocean, forecasters said.The storm around midday was about 215 miles (350 kilometers) east of Bermuda, with maximum sustained winds of 65 mph (100 kph), the National Hurricane Center said. It was moving northwest at 3 mph (5 kph).Tropical Storm Tammy earlier this month formed in the Atlantic, became a hurricane and made landfall Oct. 21 on the Caribbean island of Barbuda. Minor damage was reported before Tammy continued over the Atlantic and became a strong extratropical cyclone.A gale warning was in effect for Bermuda, where high winds were forecast into Friday night before the storm moves away from Bermuda on Saturday.The Associated Press

Best Buy recalls nearly 1 million pressure cookers after reports of 17 burn injuries

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:36:16 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Best Buy is recalling nearly 1 million pressure cookers and separate inner pots due to a defect that can cause hot foods to spew out, posing burn hazards.The recalled pressure cookers, sold under the brand Insignia, have incorrect volume markings on their inner pots — which can cause consumers to overfill them. As a result, hot food and liquids can be ejected from the device when it’s vented or opened, according to a Thursday notice published by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.To date, Best Buy has received 31 incident reports of the cookers’ contents being expelled under pressure, including 17 reports of burn injuries — some of which were second-degree and severe burns.The 930,000 Insignia Multi-Function Pressure Cookers and inner pots, sold separately as replacements, under recall were sold at Best Buy stores nationwide — as well as online on Best Buy’s website and Amazon — from October 2017 through June of this year.Consumers can iden...

Belarus leader asks Hungary’s Orban to visit and seeks a dialogue with EU amid country’s isolation

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:36:16 GMT

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — The authoritarian president of Belarus invited Hungary’s prime minister to visit his country, which has faced increasing isolation over the government’s relentless crackdown on dissent and support of ally Russia’s war with Ukraine. President Alexander Lukashenko extended the invitation to Prime Minister Viktor Orban at a meeting with Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto, who arrived in Belarus earlier this week. Lukashenko expressed readiness “for a dialogue with European countries” and invited Orban over “to discuss serious matters.” Orban’s press chief, Bertalan Havasi, said the prime minister would consider the invitation once he returns from a European Union summit in Brussels.Belarus has come under a barrage of Western sanctions since 2020, when Lukashenko won his sixth term in an election the West and the opposition denounced as rigged. The vote sparked an unprecedented wave of mass protests, to which Lukashenko’s governmen...

Internet blackout in Gaza after Israeli airstrikes bomb emergency services

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:36:16 GMT

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — The Palestinian telecom provider Paltel says internet service in Gaza Strip has been cut off by Israeli bombardment.Services were cut Friday evening, following a heavy round of Israeli airstrikes that lit up the night sky over the darkened territory.The Palestinian Red Crescent, the main emergency service in Gaza, said it was cut off from its operations room in the strip because of the internet blackout.THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel expects to launch a long and difficult ground offensive into Gaza soon to destroy Hamas, the defense minister said Friday, describing a campaign that will require dismantling a vast network of tunnels used by the territory’s militant rulers.Defense Minister Yoav Gallant’s comments pointed to a potentially grueling and open-ended new phase of the war, three weeks after Hamas’ attack into southern Israel sparked relentless bombardment in Ga...