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Wildfires torment Greece. California digs out from Hilary. What to know in extreme weather now

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:12:44 GMT

A nightmarish summer of wildfires for Greece took its deadliest turn yet on Tuesday when firefighters found the burned bodies of 18 people near the city of Alexandroupolis.A hint of the scope of the fire can be seen in this image by Associated Press photographer Achilleas Chiras. The dead were believed to have been migrants who had crossed the nearby border with Turkey before falling victim to a major fire that was among dozens across the country being whipped by gale-force winds. Their deaths came after two people had died in fires Monday elsewhere in the country.Spain continues to struggle with fires, too, including one on the tourist island of Tenerife that authorities said was arson. It’s forced the evacuation of more than 12,000 people. And in Canada, firefighters held back fires from destroying more structures in a scenic region of British Columbia in what one official called the most difficult days fighting fire in the province’s history.Here’s what else is happen...

Man, 86, accused of assuming dead brother’s identity in 1965 convicted of several charges

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:12:44 GMT

BANGOR, Maine (AP) — An 86-year-old man accused of assuming his brother’s identity decades ago and using it to double dip on Social Security benefits has been convicted of several charges, caught by facial recognition technology that matched the same face to two different identities, authorities say.Napoleon Gonzalez, of Etna, assumed the identity of his brother in 1965, a quarter century after his sibling’s death as an infant, and used the stolen identity to obtain Social Security benefits under both identities, multiple passports and state identification cards, law enforcement officials said.A U.S. District Court jury on Friday convicted him of charges including mail fraud, Social Security fraud, passport fraud and identity theft. He faces up to 20 years in prison at sentencing, with mail fraud carrying the greatest potential penalty of all the charges.Gonzalez’s benefits were previously investigated by the Social Security Administration in 2010 for potential fraud and his b...

Elementary school in London, Ont., caps enrolment, cites ‘unprecedented growth’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:12:44 GMT

A school board in southwestern Ontario is capping enrolment at one of its elementary schools, citing what it called “unprecedented growth” in London.The Thames Valley District School Board says students registered for White Oaks Public School after June 30 will be designated to Nicholas Wilson Public School, about two kilometres away.The school board says transportation will be provided, and the decision has so far affected 25 students.The board says there has been a rapid increase in the number of families in the attendance area of White Oaks, which has a capacity for around 1,000 students.The board says it will be seeking approval from the Education Ministry for a new southwest London elementary school in a bid to accommodate what it calls the growing number of families.The ministry greenlit funding in January 2022 to build a new $20.7-million southwest London elementary school, expected to be complete by the start of the 2025 school year, pending further approvals.The...

Florida agencies are accused in a lawsuit of sending confusing Medicaid termination notices

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:12:44 GMT

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Three Florida residents filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday, alleging that state agencies aren’t adequately notifying low-income and disabled people that their public health insurance is ending.The class-action lawsuit was filed in Jacksonville federal court by the Florida Health Justice Project and the National Health Law Program on behalf of the three Floridians, according to court records. The defendants are the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration and the Florida Department of Children and Families. The agencies didn’t immediately respond to emails seeking comment.More than 182,000 Floridians have been issued termination notices since April, when a coronavirus policy that banned states from dropping people from Medicaid ended, while hundreds of thousands more are expected to lose coverage over the next year, the residents claim in the lawsuit. Many of the low-income people who are losing coverage have no idea whether the state is making...

Cleanup of chemical runoff in Etobicoke creeks to last until October, ministry says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:12:44 GMT

As cleanup continues nearly two weeks after a chemical runoff from an industrial fire in Etobicoke affected local creeks, the ministry says crews will likely remain on site maintaining the waterways until October.A spokesperson for Ontario’s Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks said they’ll be present at Mimico Creek and the Humber Bay Park area “and actively engaged with all relevant parties such as the Brenntag Canada Inc., its contractor GLF Environmental, as well as Toronto Water and Environment and Climate Change Canada.”“Containment efforts have been successful, and the material was contained within the Humber Bay Park area of Mimico Creek and did not reach open water,” a government spokesperson said. “As of August 21, the oil slurry had been collected, and efforts will focus on the cleanup of the creek banks.”A six-alarm fire at an Etobicoke industrial building on August 11 led to the chemical spillage in Mimico Creek...

Patients in B.C. long-term care homes and N.W.T. hospitals displaced by wildfires

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:12:44 GMT

Nearly 900 seniors have been forced out of care facilities in a wildfire-ravaged region of British Columbia while the province has joined Alberta in receiving medical evacuees from the Northwest Territories, where thousands of residents have escaped dangerous conditions.Susan Brown, CEO of Interior Health in B.C., said most of the residents were transferred from long-term care homes and memories of the devastation from past fires in the province may be exacerbating angst among both patients and employees.“There’s so much anxiety associated with wildfires now. We have a lot of staff and families that have been through this multiple years,” she said of previous blazes, including in 2003, when about 33,000 people fled the area and many homes were burned to the ground.A separate group of patients of various ages with previously acquired brain injury has also been moved. The majority of seniors were transferred to safer areas of their large Interior region but some are ...

Stock market today: Wall Street stalls a day after a rare August gain

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:12:44 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street is drifting in mixed trading Tuesday ahead of two potentially market-shaking events later in the week.The S&P 500 was 0.2% lower in late trading, coming off a rare August gain that was powered by Big Tech stocks Monday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 159 points, or 0.5%, at 34,304 with an hour remaining in trading. The Nasdaq composite was 0.2% higher.Stocks have struggled this month as yields have shot upward in the bond market, which cranks up the pressure on other investments. The yield on the 10-year Treasury eased a bit Tuesday, a day after reaching its highest level since 2007.Nvidia, one of Wall Street’s most influential stocks, swung from an early gain to a loss of 2.5% ahead of its earnings report on Wednesday, one that could be pivotal for the stock market. The chipmaker has been at the center of Wall Street’s frenzy around artificial-intelligence technology, which investors believe will create immense profits for companies....

13-year-old Chicago girl reported missing

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:12:44 GMT

CHICAGO — A 13-year-old teen girl has been reported missing.Dontiasiah Hooper was last seen on Aug. 10 wearing black shorts and a black shirt.Chicago police did not provide a location where Hooper was missing from.Hooper has black hair and brown eyes. She is 5'7" and weighs around 207 lbs.Anyone with information can call 911 or contact police at 312-747-8380.

Bob Dylan performing at the Cadillac Palace Theatre in Chicago this fall

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:12:44 GMT

CHICAGO — One of the most iconic names in rock and roll is set to perform in Chicago across three nights this fall. Legendary singer and songwriter Bob Dylan's 'Rough and Rowdy Days' tour comes to the Cadillac Palace Theatre in the Loop on Oct. 6-8.Pre-sale for tickets begins Thursday, Aug. 25. General ticket sales begin the following day, Friday, Aug. 26.Read more: Latest Chicago news headlinesTicket prices have not yet been announced. The 82-year-old's fall tour dates also include stops in nearby Milwaukee and Indianapolis.

Two men arrested in Round Rock after woman says she was kidnapped, police say

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:12:44 GMT

HARKER HEIGHTS, Texas (KXAN) -- Two men were arrested, and a woman was taken to the hospital after they were found at a motel room in Round Rock Tuesday, the Harker Heights Police Department said in a news release.Around 4 a.m., officers met with a woman who said her roommate sent her a text saying she was kidnapped and thought she was going to die, according to HHPD.During the investigation, police determined the woman was being held in a motel room in Round Rock, the release states.Around 7:16 a.m., the Round Rock Police Department found the woman and took her to the hospital for injuries, the release said.Two men were taken into custody in connection with the kidnapping, police said.Police said this appeared to be an isolated incident concerning a previous relationship, and there was no current threat to the community.The Texas Department of Public Safety, Bell County Sheriff's Office, Bell County Communications Center, Round Rock Police Department, Austin Police Department and t...