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Hurricane Hilary threatens ‘catastrophic and life-threatening’ flooding in Mexico and California

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:42:52 GMT

CABO SAN LUCAS, Mexico (AP) — Hurricane Hilary headed for Mexico’s Baja California Saturday as the U.S, National Hurricane Center predicted “catastrophic and life-threatening flooding” for the peninsula and for the southwestern United States, where it is forecast to make land as a tropical storm on Sunday.Officials as far north as Los Angeles scrambled to get the homeless off the streets, set up shelters and prepare for evacuations.Hilary is expected to plow into the Mexican peninsula on Saturday night and then surge northward and enter the history books as the first tropical storm to hit Southern California in 84 years.The U.S. National Hurricane Center issued a tropical storm watch for a wide swath of Southern California from the Pacific coast to interior mountains and deserts. Officials talked of evacuation plans for California’s Catalina Island.“I don’t think any of us — I know me particularly — never thought I’d be standing here talking about a hurricane or a tropical sto...

Lebanese state media say Syrian man suspected of deadly bombing committed suicide to avoid detention

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:42:52 GMT

BEIRUT (AP) — A Syrian citizen suspected of being behind a deadly bombing that killed and wounded dozens near the capital, Damascus, last month committed suicide when gunmen tried to detain him in Lebanon where he fled, state-run National News Agency reported Saturday.The agency identified the man as Wissam Dalla and said that he entered Lebanon illegally and was staying with relatives in a Beirut southern suburb where he was planning another “terrorist attack.” The 23-year-old man jumped from the 7th floor of the building where he was staying late Friday night and later succumbed to his wounds in hospital.NNA did not report on who tried to detain Dalla but other media outlets said they were members of the militant Hezbollah group, adding that the dead man was suspected of links to the extremist Islamic State organization.On July 28, a motorcycle planted with explosives detonated in the Damascus suburb of Sayida Zeinab near a Shiite Muslim shrine killing at least six people and woun...

Zelenskyy visits NATO candidate Sweden for 1st time since full-scale war with Russia

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:42:52 GMT

STOCKHOLM (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is visiting Sweden on Saturday — his first visit to the country since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year, the Swedish government said.It said Zelenskyy will meet Swedish government officials in Harpsund, about 120 kilometers (75 miles) west of Stockholm. He will also meet Sweden’s King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia at a palace in the area.Sweden abandoned its longstanding policy of military nonalignment to support Ukraine with weapons and other aid in the war against Russia. It also applied for NATO membership but is still waiting to join the alliance.Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin visited top military officials in the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don near the Ukrainian border.The Kremlin said that Putin listened to reports from Valery Gerasimov, the commander in charge of Moscow’s operations in Ukraine, and other top military brass at the headquarters of Russia’s Southern Military District.Th...

United owner Bill McGuire paints new vision for development around Allianz Field

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:42:52 GMT

A real estate adviser with the Tegra Group submitted an updated block diagram to the St. Paul Parks and Recreation Commission on July 14, 2023, showing an updated plan for development near Allianz Field at Snelling and University avenues in St Paul. (Courtesy of United Village)When Minnesota United team owner Bill McGuire persuaded the city of St. Paul to move forward with a 19,400-seat professional soccer stadium in the Midway in 2016, he presented a real estate development vision that would overhaul the surrounding Midway Shopping Center with new retail, housing and perhaps a movie theater.With construction largely funded by backers lined up by McGuire himself, the city’s $250 million stadium opened in 2019, replacing an outdated supermarket, a dance studio, liquor store and the nearby Midway Pro Bowl bowling alley. But the promised real estate around it never followed. In fact, just the opposite.Of the 28 or more retail tenants that once surrounded the Loons’ stadium ...

Xcel Energy to build underground barrier to further contain radioactive water at Monticello nuclear plant

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:42:52 GMT

The utility responsible for leaking radioactive water from its nuclear plant in Monticello, Minn., in recent months has announced that it will build an underground metal barrier to keep affected groundwater away from the nearby Mississippi River.Xcel Energy said construction will last several weeks and should begin by Monday, according to a statement posted on the city of Monticello’s website Thursday.“Constructing the barrier wall is another step the company is taking to try and ensure that the small amount of tritium still present in the groundwater remains within the plant boundaries and can be safely recovered, stored and reused on site,” Xcel said in the statement.Xcel discovered in November that about 400,000 gallons of water containing tritium — a radioactive isotope of hydrogen — had leaked from a faulty pipe. The utility made a temporary fix but learned in March that hundreds more gallons of tritium-laced water had leaked, leading to a dayslong shutdown to fix the pip...

Ask Amy: A mistaken recipient reposted my email about a friend, and now it’s loose on the internet

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:42:52 GMT

Dear Amy: My friend “Tyler” and I decided to try a yoga class. As we were doing the first position, he passed gas. Very audibly!It was super-awkward, but then he said, “Excuse me! Sounds like I started things with a bang.”People chuckled and the class went on.I thought Tyler’s recovery from an ultra-embarrassing moment was great, so I mentioned it in an email to a mutual friend of ours, but I stupidly and accidentally sent it to the wrong person (a near-stranger I’d exchanged a couple of emails with a couple of years ago).The person who received the email posted a screenshot of it on social media with the message: “I got an email about a dude who farted!”Her posting was reposted many times by her impressive number of followers. The email had Tyler’s actual first and last name and some details about where we live.I was horrified and insisted that she delete her posting, and she did – but of course it is still “out there,” floating around on the internet.Should...

Harriette Cole: This disagreement over my luxury car might break our engagement

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:42:52 GMT

DEAR HARRIETTE: My fiance is 24, and I am 33. I met him last year at a restaurant, and we have been together ever since. He recently proposed! We are both excited to get married and start a life together.Related ArticlesAdvice | Harriette Cole: We went on one date, and he’s so gross every time I see him Advice | Harriette Cole: I learned that my new friend used to badmouth me. What should I do? Advice | Harriette Cole: Was it rash to choose this job over my boyfriend’s objections? Advice | Harriette Cole: What does it mean that my boyfriend’s sister called me by this name? Advice | Harriette Cole: Our guest walked through a closed screen door. Is it our problem? I am in the process of looking to buy a home, and this week I found one that I could see myself in for a long time. My financial adviser told me that I was $15,000 short of making a down payment. I didn’t want to ask my fi...

“Serial” Podcast's Adnan Syed Might Go Back to Prison Because of Toxic Maryland Politics

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:42:52 GMT

Even if you’ve never heard “Serial,” the true crime podcast that went viral in 2014, you’ve probably heard about the case it made famous. Adnan Syed was 17 years old when he was arrested in 1999 for killing 18-year-old Hae Min Lee, his ex-girlfriend in Baltimore. A jury found Syed guilty the following year, and he was sentenced to life in prison.After “Serial” premiered in 2014 and raised questions about the case, a Maryland court heard Syed’s appeal and he was awarded a new trial. Holes in the original prosecution were established, new suspects were identified, and DNA evidence was newly tested. After a long fight, his conviction was overturned last year, and the charges against him were officially dropped in October 2022.In March of this year, though, Syed’s conviction was reinstated. Lee’s family had filed an appeal and argued that the state’s attorney — what the state of Maryland calls its local prosecutors — hadn’t given adequate notice for them to attend the September hearing ...

England reaches the Women’s World Cup final despite key injuries

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:42:52 GMT

There were some doubts about England’s squad leading into the Women’s World Cup because a trio of dominant players — Leah Williamson, Beth Mead and Fran Kirby — weren’t with the team because of injuries.Then there were questions about how they would handle the absence of forward Lauren James, who was suspended for both England’s quarterfinal and semifinal matches.But the Lionesses, led by coach Sarina Wiegman, have shown they are adept at adjustments — and it’s gotten them all the way to the title match.England plays Spain on Sunday for the World Cup trophy. The Lionesses defeated Australia 3-1 in the semifinals on Wednesday.“The commitment of this team, the willingness to become better and to win games is so high. I haven’t seen any moment that’s any different. There’s never any complacency in the team,” Wiegman said. “Of course, we’ve had a lot of things thrown at us, with injuries. We had to find a way, ‘OK, what fits best now? How to play?’”En...

Your pet is priceless to you, but the law says they’re property

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:42:52 GMT

The deaths of 10 dogs in a flood at a dog day care in Northeast D.C. on Monday has left some owners angry, as well as grief-stricken.When a dog — or any pet — dies in the care of a veterinarian, boarding facility or groomer, or even a dog walker, an owner may want to sue, but an attorney says they can find their options are limited.While laws vary from state to state, typically, a pet is seen as property.In Maryland, “you can recover the market value of the pet before the injury, or the cost of veterinary care,” attorney Daniel Miller of the Miller Stern law firm in Baltimore told WTOP.He explained that, under a Maryland law known as the pet damages statute, the current cap is $10,000.Punitive damages are “extremely hard to get in Maryland,” according to Miller, because a pet owner would have to show “deliberate actions” or “willful intent” led to the death of the animal.And when it comes to trying to recover damages for the anguish caused by the loss of a pet, Miller said, “T...