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Virginia’s governor declares a state of emergency as firefighters battle wildfires

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:07:52 GMT

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin declared a state of emergency Tuesday as firefighters responded to two wildfires that amid dry conditions and high winds.The declaration allows Virginia to mobilize additional resources, staff and equipment to help with the response, the governor’s office said in a news release. The operation involves the Virginia National Guard, the Department of Forestry, the Department of Emergency Management and other agencies.The Quaker Run Fire in Madison County and the Tuggles Gap fire in Patrick County broke containment lines over the weekend, and officials said additional resources are required to contain these fires and respond to any additional fires.Virginia’s fall fire season runs through Nov. 30, but officials said drought conditions have made these fires challenging to contain. A state of emergency was also declared in a western North Carolina community where a wildfire burned hundreds of acres and threatened homes. Crews are fighting several s...

Mexico’s hurricane reconstruction plans prioritize military barracks, owners left to rebuild hotels

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:07:52 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s government laid out hurricane reconstruction plans Tuesday for the resort of Acapulco that seem to give as much priority to building military barracks as re-opening hotels. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said he hoped owners would be able to reopen as many as 35 of the resort’s 377 hotels by March or April, following the destruction of Hurricane Otis, the Category 5 storm that smashed into the city Oct. 25. But his administration plans to build 38 new barracks in the resort for the quasi-military National Guard, in addition to five that already exist there. Each barracks will house 250 Guard troopers, who are recruited from or trained by the army. That would mean between 9,500 and 10,000 Guard troops would be stationed permanently in the resort, about the same number sent there following the hurricane, which caused at least 48 deaths.In the days following the storm’s Oct. 25 landfall, Guard troops proved incapable of stopping days of ransacki...

Military-ruled Myanmar hosts joint naval exercise with Russia, its close ally and top arms supplier

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:07:52 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — The military-run Southeast Asian nation of Myanmar is holding its first joint naval exercise with Russia, state media reported Tuesday, with the countries carrying out maneuvers in the Andaman Sea.Reports in the state-run Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper said that the maritime security exercise with Russia was being held until Thursday, 157 kilometers (85 miles) west of Myeik in Myanmar’s far south. Some Russian navy vessels sailed from Yangon to take part, state television MRTV reported.The three-day joint drill involves aircraft and naval vessels and focuses on defending against threats from air, sea and land as well as other maritime security measures, the reports said.Russia is a major supporter and arms supplier of Myanmar’s military government, which was installed after the army seized power and ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021. Russia defends Myanmar’s military government in international forums, and the ruling generals re...

B.C. Indigenous leaders lobby for transition from open-net salmon farms

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:07:52 GMT

OTTAWA — An alliance of British Columbia Indigenous leaders is calling on the federal government to stand firm on plans to transition away from open-net salmon farms in B.C. waters by 2025.Chiefs from across the province are in Ottawa for meetings with federal officials, including Fisheries Minister Diane Lebouthillier (dih-YAN’ lih-boo-TIL’-yay.)Bob Chamberlin, chair of the First Nations Wild Salmon Alliance, says they told the minister that most B.C. First Nations want the transition.But Chamberlin acknowledges support for the plan isn’t unanimous among Indigenous people in the province, where about a dozen First Nations are involved in the salmon farming industry.Lebouthillier wasn’t immediately available for comment.The B.C. Salmon Farming industry says any debate about the future of salmon farms must include the perspectives of Indigenous people who operate fish farms on their territories.Open-net fish farms off B.C.’s coast are a long-running subj...

Ukrainian children abducted by Russia appeal for Canadian MPs to help

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:07:52 GMT

OTTAWA — Ukrainian children abducted by Russia during its assault on their country are sharing the stories of their captivity with Canadian parliamentarians, in hopes they will help rescue others.Members of Parliament were tearful as four teenagers who were forcibly taken from Ukraine to camps in Russia or Russian occupied territories shared their stories with a House of Commons subcommittee on international human rights. The MPs also heard from two parents who were separated from their kids for months before being reunited. The children who testified today were rescued with the help of Save Ukraine, an organization dedicated to repatriating and rehabilitating abducted Ukrainian children. It is unclear how many children have been taken to Russia or territories it controls in Ukraine, but Save the Children says Ukrainian and Russian estimates of that number range from 2,000 to 20,000.Save the Children advocacy manager Kateryna Lytvynenko says Canada can play a role in reuniting abduc...

Suburban man charged with child pornography possession

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:07:52 GMT

BLOOMINGDALE, Ill. — A suburban man was charged after allegedly possessing child pornography.Last month, a search warrant was conducted at the home of Eric Wilson, located in the 200 block of Carriage Way in Bloomingdale.Wilson, 40, turned himself into Illinois State Police on Tuesday.He is being held at the DuPage County Jail pending a detention hearing.

Kenosha County deputies looking for missing 15-year-old girl last seen Saturday

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:07:52 GMT

KENOSHA, Wisc. — Authorities in Kenosha are looking for a 15-year-old girl last seen Saturday in Wheatland.Anna Marie Estets was last seen leaving the 34500 block of Geneva Road around 2 a.m. on Nov. 4.Anna Marie stands 4-foot-9-inches, weighs 80 pounds and has dark brown eyes and dark brown/blue hair. She was last seen wearing a black hoodie and black leggings. Family looking for missing man last seen at West Town park Anyone with information is asked to call the Kenosha County Sheriff’s Department Detective Bureau at (262) 605-5144 or the Kenosha Area Crime Stoppers at 262-656-7333.

You put what where? Thousands of Americans go to ER for 'foreign object' removal, CDC finds

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:07:52 GMT

CLEVELAND (WJW) — America, the land of the free and the brave, is also home to roughly 4,000 individuals per year who head to the doctor to have foreign objects removed from their rear ends, according to a study released by the American Journal of Emergency Medicine this summer. Of course, that isn't the only area from which items need to be recovered every year. In data recently released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as obtained by FOX News, nearly 300,000 people had to go to the emergency room in 2021 for foreign objects in their bodies, making it the ninth top cause of hospitalizations for unintentional injury. Tyson Foods recalling chicken patties due to metal pieces "Orifices are not made for foreign object intrusion unless it's a doctor doing it for investigative medical purposes," Dr. Marc Siegel, a New York University professor, told FOX News.But despite warnings from health care professionals, it's eye-opening to learn what has been lodged insid...

Gannett hires Taylor Swift reporter

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:07:52 GMT

*Video of previous Taylor Swift coverage.(The Hill) -- Gannett, the parent company of USA Today and local media outlet The Tennessean, announced it has hired a reporter to cover pop megastar Taylor Swift. The Tennessean shared on Monday that veteran journalist Bryan West was the top choice in a pool of hundreds of candidates who applied for the position.Michael A. Anastasi, Gannett’s vice president of local news and the editor of The Tennessean, told Variety that applicants for the position included fans of the artist, who refer to themselves as “Swifties,” and veteran hard news reporters, including one “very established White House reporter.”West is a seasoned journalist, having won two Emmy Awards as a television producer, as well as the Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award for investigative work.He is also a passionate Swift fan.“I have been a fan-slash-expert of Taylor even when she was canceled during Reputation,” West said, according to The Tennesseean, referring to the ...

Lawsuit filed against Austin's revised Project Connect light rail plan

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:07:52 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — A new lawsuit filed aims at the revised Project Connect light rail plan adopted by the City of Austin, Austin Transit Partnership and CapMetro in June. The lawsuit names both Austin City Council and ATP as defendants, alleging both entities "do not have voter approval for the replacement transit plan," per a Tuesday release.“The city and ATP are collecting and spending tax dollars approved by voters in 2020 for a dramatically different Project Connect than was recently approved by the City,” said Bill Aleshire, the lead attorney on the lawsuit, in the release. “The law does not allow property tax revenue approved by voters for one project to then be used for an inferior replacement project. Nor can Austin just ignore statutory and constitutional restrictions on use of property taxes.”Austin voters approved Project Connect in the November 2020 election. Based on the ballot language, voters greenlit a designated tax rate and revenue stream "for the purpose of providing...