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Biden to send disaster assistance to Louisiana, as salt water threatens the state’s drinking water

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:11:10 GMT

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — President Joe Biden announced Wednesday that federal disaster assistance is available for Louisiana, which is working to slow a mass inflow of salt water creeping up the Mississippi River and threatening drinking water supplies in the southern part of the state. Biden’s action authorizes the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency to coordinate all disaster relief efforts, according to a news release from the White House. Additionally, the declaration will allow for more equipment, resources and federal money to address the saltwater intrusion.“I’m grateful to the Biden administration for making this request a priority and responding quickly to help the people of South Louisiana,” Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards said in a news release Wednesday. For the second year in a row, salt water from the Gulf of Mexico has moved further up the Mississippi, threatening drinking water in communities that rely on the river for fre...

US guitarist Al Di Meola suffers a heart attack on stage in Romania but is now in a stable condition

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:11:10 GMT

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — The award-winning U.S. guitarist Al Di Meola suffered a heart attack during a performance in Romania’s capital but is currently in a stable condition and receiving treatment, a hospital spokesperson said on Thursday.Di Meola, 69, began playing a concert at a venue in Bucharest at 9 p.m. on Wednesday night. Dragos Cristescu, a photographer who attended the concert, told The Associated Press that he saw Di Meola clasp his chest during the performance and that the guitarist struggled to walk off stage. The other two members of Di Meola’s trio continued to play for several minutes until they announced the show would be cut short.In a statement, the Bagdasar-Arseni emergency hospital said Di Meola was admitted to a cardiology ward where he is being treated for a segment elevation myocardial infarction, or STEMI.According to the health care website Cleveland Clinic, a STEMI mainly affects the heart’s lower chambers and “tend(s) to be more severe and dangero...

6 women are rescued from a refrigerated truck in France after making distress call to a BBC reporter

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:11:10 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Six female migrants trapped inside a refrigerated food truck were rescued by French police after one of the women made a distress call to a reporter, the BBC reported Thursday.The women — four Vietnamese and two Iraqis — hid for hours in a truck loaded with boxes of bananas in northern France, believing the vehicle was on its way to the U.K. or Ireland. When they realized that the truck was going the opposite way, they started to panic in the cold and cramped, dark space. One of them managed to reach a BBC reporter in London, who then helped the women alert French police Wednesday.The broadcaster reported that the woman was able to send text messages, the truck’s GPS location and short videos showing the conditions inside the truck. The women were shown sitting in a tight space on the floor, surrounded by boxes of fruit, panicking and struggling to breathe, according to the BBC.French police soon tracked them down and managed to intercept the truck on a highway, ...

Winning ticket for historic $68M lotto jackpot was sold in Toronto

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:11:10 GMT

A Torontonian is waking up $68 million richer after the winning ticket for a record-breaking lottery prize was sold somewhere in the city.The Gold Ball jackpot drawn on Wednesday night was the largest in Lotto 649 history with just one guaranteed winner after 30 draws without the gold ball dropping.There were also a number of other life-changing prizes won across the province with the recent draw, including $100,000 Encore tickets in Toronto, Sarnia and Windsor.The previous largest Lotto 649 jackpot win was in April 2023 when a $64 million ticket was sold in New Brunswick. A $64 million jackpot was also won in 2015 by a Mississauga resident.The most recent Gold Ball jackpot was won back on June 14, 2023, when a ticket sold in Niagara Falls collected $42 million.The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) is reminding everyone who bought a ticket to make sure they check and see if they won. In June, a $70 million OLG Lotto Max ticket went unclaimed in Scarborough after a June 28...

Thai police say drug bust nets methamphetamine, crystal meth and heroin worth $8.2 million

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:11:10 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — Police in Thailand said Thursday they made one of the country’s biggest ever seizures of illicit drugs, a haul including methamphetamine, crystal meth and heroin, with a total estimated street value of about 300 million baht ($8.2 million).The police said the drugs were seized during a Wednesday night raid on a house in Nakhon Pathom, west of Bangkok, in which four men were arrested for possession of illegal drugs. They allegedly confessed to renting the house to stash the drugs before distributing them to dealers in the greater Bangkok area.The seized drugs included 15 million methamphetamine tablets, 443 wrapped packages of heroin, 420 kilograms (926 pounds) of crystal meth and a quantity of drugs often used for partying, including “happy water” — a powder comprising several psychoactive substances to be made into a drink — and “five-five,” a strong sedative with the pharmaceutical name Nimetazepam, police said. The drugs were displayed to the media at a news confer...

Powerball jackpot climbs again, hits $925 million after another drawing with no winner

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:11:10 GMT

DES MOINES, Iowa (NEXSTAR) — The Powerball jackpot climbed to an estimated $925 million after no players hit it big Wednesday night, continuing a stretch of lottery futility that has lasted for more than two months.The winning numbers were: 1, 7, 46, 47, 63 and red Powerball 7. There were $1 million winners in California, Kansas, Maryland and New York.The jackpot has grown so large because there have now been 30 consecutive drawings without a big winner, dating back to July 19. Powerball’s long odds of 1 in 292.2 million are designed to generate big jackpots, with prizes becoming ever larger as they repeatedly roll over when no one wins.Despite its growth, the jackpot still comes in behind a $2.04 billion jackpot hit last November in California; a $1.586 billion jackpot split by three tickets (California, Florida and Tennessee) in 2016, and a $1.08 billion jackpot won by a California ticket in July.The jackpot is the ninth-largest ever and would ne...

The candidates went after Biden — and Trump — at the second GOP debate

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:11:10 GMT

The field's early front-runner, Donald Trump, is skipping the event, just as he did the first. He was 2,000 miles away trying to woo union workers in Michigan amid a labor strike.The candidates on stage are Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum.What to know— 7 candidates qualified for the second debate. Here’s who missed the cut — Here's how to watch tonight's debate — Republicans face growing urgency to stop Trump ahead of debate — Trump is in Michigan to compete with Biden for union votes — Who’s running for president? See a rundown of the 2024 candidatesDeSantis rejects idea that anti-abortion stance costs GOP electionsDeSantis is rejecting the idea that Republicans have been losing elections because of their opposition to abortion, and he says his reelection as Florida governor...

Thursday Forecast: Temps in low 70s with patchy fog, sprinkles

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:11:10 GMT

CHICAGO — Patchy fog with mostly cloudy conditions and isolated sprinkles Thursday. Decreasing clouds, Winds: NNE 0-5 G10. High: 70. Interactive Radar: Track showers and storms here Partly cloudy tonight with patchy fog. Winds: NNE 0-5 G15. Low: 57.Friday Forecast: Patchy fog, mostly sunny, ESE 0-5. High: 75/71.Full forecast details and more at the WGN Weather Center blog

Actor Michael Gambon, who played Dumbledore, has died at age 82: publicist

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:11:10 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Veteran actor Michael Gambon, who was known to many for his portrayal of Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbledore in six of the eight “Harry Potter” films, has died, his publicist said Thursday. He was 82.A statement by his family, issued by his publicist, said he died following “a bout of pneumonia.”“We are devastated to announce the loss of Sir Michael Gambon. Beloved husband and father, Michael died peacefully in hospital with his wife Anne and son Fergus at his bedside,” his family said.No matter what role he took on in a career that lasted more than five decades, Gambon was always instantly recognizable by the deep and drawling tones of his voice. He was cast as the much-loved Dumbledore after the death of his predecessor, Richard Harris, in 2002.

Longhorns' Gbenda seeing perseverance pay off

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:11:10 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) - The current landscape of college sports - particularly football - is very different from what it was just five years ago. For better or worse, players have much more freedom to transfer from one program to another.There is no better example in college football than Colorado, who welcomed more than 50 transfers with new head coach Deion Sanders this past off-season. Programs like Texas have seen players leave for other schools as well.The Longhorns do have players that have stuck with the development process to great success. A prime example is fifth-year senior linebacker David Gbenda."In this day and age of college football, I think we're diminishing and losing the value of perseverance," said Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian. "[Gbenda] is a prime example of perseverance."Having started just twice in his first four years, Gbenda has broken out in a big way in 2023. The commitment to Texas never wavered, even during the moments of struggle."It's just the type of pers...