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Smoky haze blanketing US, Canada could last for days as wildfires rage, winds won’t budge

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:22:15 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — On air quality maps, purple signifies the worst of it. In reality, it’s a thick, hazardous haze that’s disrupting daily life for millions of people across the U.S. and Canada, blotting out skylines and turning skies orange.And with weather systems expected to hardly budge, the smoky blanket billowing from wildfires in Quebec and Nova Scotia and sending plumes of fine particulate matter as far away as North Carolina should persist into Thursday and possibly the weekend.That means at least another day, or more, of a dystopian-style detour that’s chased players from ballfields, actors from Broadway stages, delayed thousands of flights and sparked a resurgence in mask wearing and remote work — all while raising concerns about the health effects of prolonged exposure to such bad air.The weather system that’s driving the great Canadian-American smoke out — a low-pressure system over Maine and Nova Scotia — “will probably be hanging around at least f...

Stock market today: Asian shares slip following technology selloff on Wall Street

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:22:15 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares fell Thursday after heavy selling of big-name tech stocks pushed benchmarks lower on Wall Street. Markets declined across the region and U.S. futures also were lower. Oil prices retreated. The declines came despite a sharp upward revision in Japan’s estimated economic growth rate for the January-March quarter, to 2.7%. That was above what analysts had expected. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 sank 1.3% to 31,517.45. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 shed 0.2% to 7,105.30. South Korea’s Kospi slipped 0.6% to 2,599.49. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slid 0.4% to 19,177.52. The Shanghai Composite lost 0.1% to 3,193.86. Taiwan’s Taiex lost 1.1%, while India’s Sensex edged 0.1% higher. On Wednesday, U.S. stocks drifted to a mixed close as declines for Microsoft and other tech stocks overshadowed gains for much of the rest of the market. It’s a reversal from much of this year, as excitement about artificial intelligence and hopes for an end to interest rate hikes have ...

Malaysia, Singapore slam comedian for ‘offensive’ joke over MH370 plane disappearance

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:22:15 GMT

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysian officials on Thursday condemned a Singapore-born stand-up comedian who mocked Malaysia and made fun of the 2014 disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 during a skit in the United States.Jocelyn Chia posted her act on social media, sparking outrage in Malaysia and prompting Singapore officials to quickly apologize. Chia made crude remarks about Malaysia, which she said lagged far behind Singapore after the two separated in 1965. She joked about Malaysian airplanes not being able to fly, drawing gasps from the audience. Chia continued: “Why? Malaysian Airlines going missing not funny, huh? Some jokes don’t land.” Flight MH370 was carrying 239 people from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing when it vanished on March 8, 2014, and is presumed to have crashed in the far southern Indian Ocean.Malaysian Foreign Minister Zambry Abdul Kadir said Chia’s act “showed a total lack of sensitivity and empathy” toward Malaysians and the victims’ famil...

Connecticut adjourns largely bipartisan session in contrast to rancor in other states

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:22:15 GMT

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Connecticut’s Democratic-controlled General Assembly passed protections for abortion providers and gave more power to libraries facing book challenges — and they did it with Republican support.All but 13 Republicans voted for the $51 billion two-year state budget and a handful even voted for a major gun control bill that’s already being challenged in court.Bucking the partisan rancor seen in other legislatures this year, Connecticut lawmakers on Wednesday night wrapped up what’s been one of the most bipartisan legislative sessions in recent memory. And they’re crediting old fashioned relationship-building, a willingness for compromise, a healthy budget surplus and a strict adjournment deadline.“ Oregon hasn’t met in a month because the senators have just left the building. Think about that,” Democratic House Speaker Matthew Ritter said hours before Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont addressed lawmakers in a traditional midnight speech, lauding them for a “...

Authorities to reveal results of investigation into how Colorado’s worst wildfire started

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:22:15 GMT

DENVER (AP) — Authorities say they have wrapped up their investigation into what started the most destructive wildfire in Colorado history and will announce their findings on Thursday.The blaze destroyed nearly 1,100 homes as heavy winds pushed it across the heavily populated suburbs between Denver and Boulder on Dec. 30, 2021. Two people were found dead in what is known as the Marshall Fire.The inferno erupted following months of drought amid a winter nearly devoid of snow and fed on bone-dry grassland surrounding fast-growing development in the area near the Rocky Mountain foothills. Winds gusted up to 100 mph (160 kph) in places.The fire that destroyed swaths of houses in the cities of Superior and Louisville, neighboring towns about 20 miles (32 kilometers) northwest of Denver, is blamed for the death of a 69-year-old man who lived near where investigators believed the fire started. The remains of a 91-year-old woman, who was last seen trying to rescue her dogs from her home in ...

‘Keep them alive’: More states legalize fentanyl test strips to combat surging opioid deaths

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:22:15 GMT

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — At Cleveland’s Urban Kutz Barbershop, customers can flip through magazines as they wait, or help themselves to drug screening tests left out in a box on a table with a somber message: “Your drugs could contain fentanyl. Please take free test strips.”Owner Waverly Willis has given out strips for years at his barbershop, hoping to protect others from unwittingly being exposed to the highly potent synthetic opioid ravaging the U.S. and often secretly laced into other illegal drugs.“When I put them out, they just fly out the door,” said Willis, who proudly hands out about 30 strips a week as part of The Urban Barber Association, a Cleveland organization that provides health education to the community via local barbershops.Nearly 18 years into his own sobriety from drugs, Willis isn’t shy about making the strips available. He figures he’d be dead if fentanyl were so widely prevalent when he was using. Fentanyl has driven overdose deaths in the U.S. since...

Biden invites thousands of LGBTQ+ individuals, singer Betty Who, to Pride Month celebration

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:22:15 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden has invited thousands of LGBTQ+ individuals to celebrate Pride Month in a high-profile show of support at a time when the community feels under attack like never before and the White House has little recourse to beat back a flood state-level legislation against them. Biden was announcing new initiatives to protect LGBTQ+ communities from attacks, help youth with mental health resources and homelessness and counter book bans, White House officials said.The White House was closely monitoring air quality due to hazardous smoke from Canadian wildfires to determine whether to proceed with plans for a Thursday night picnic featuring food, games, face painting and photos. Queen HD the DJ was handling the music; singer Betty Who was on tap to perform. Karine Jean-Pierre, the first openly gay White House press secretary, said Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and their spouses are strong supporters of the LGBTQ+ community and think that having a celebr...

The Republican presidential field is largely set. Here are takeaways on where the contest stands.

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:22:15 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — After a trio of new announcements this week, the Republican Party’s 2024 presidential field is all but set.A handful of stragglers may jump in later, but as of now there are at least 10 high-profile Republican candidates officially seeking their party’s nomination. And with the announcement phase of the primary campaign largely over, several leading Republican contenders will gather in North Carolina this weekend to begin a more aggressive sorting period. It will be a long road to the GOP’s national convention in Milwaukee next summer when Republican delegates across the country gather to finalize their nominee to run against President Joe Biden. Surprises are guaranteed. Fortunes will change. But as of now, every Republican White House hopeful is looking up at former President Donald Trump, who is the undisputed frontrunner in the crowded contest.Here are some takeaways on where the Republican contest stands: IT’S A LARGE FIELD AFTER ALLTrump...

Biden and Sunak to focus on Ukraine and economic security in British PM’s first White House visit

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:22:15 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is welcoming Prime Minister Rishi Sunak for wide-ranging talks on Thursday as the British leader makes his first White House visit as premier.The leaders’ Oval Office talks are expected to cover the war in Ukraine, China, economic security, international cooperation on regulating the growing field of artificial intelligence, and more. Biden and Sunak have already had four face-to-face meetings since Sunak became prime minister in October, but the talks in Washington will offer the two leaders a chance for their most sustained interaction to date.White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the 15-month-old Russian invasion of Ukraine will be “top of mind.” The U.S. and U.K. are the two biggest donors to the Ukraine war effort and play a central role in a long-term effort announced last month to train, and eventually equip, Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets. Rishi also is looking to make the case to Biden for U.K. Defense Ministe...

Main suspect in 2005 disappearance of Natalee Holloway due to be extradited to US

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:22:15 GMT

LIMA, Peru (AP) — The main suspect in the 2005 disappearance of U.S. student Natalee Holloway is expected to be handed over to U.S. officials in Peru and flown to the United States on Thursday, roughly a month after both countries agreed on his extradition.Joran van der Sloot is wanted in the U.S. on one count each of extortion and wire fraud, the only charges to have ever linked the Dutch citizen to Holloway’s disappearance on the Caribbean island of Aruba. His extradition moved forward after a Peruvian judge on Tuesday affirmed the government’s decision to temporarily transfer custody to U.S. authorities.Van der Sloot has been serving a 28-year sentence for the murder of a Peruvian woman. Authorities over the weekend moved him from a maximum-security prison in the Andes to a detention facility in the capital, Lima, from which he was due to be taken to the airport at some point Thursday.It was not immediately clear when he would make his first court appearance in the U....