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China criticizes the upcoming US visit of Taiwan’s presidential front-runner

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:19:24 GMT

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — China is criticizing an upcoming stopover in the United States by Taiwan’s vice president and presidential front-runner William Lai as a challenge to its territorial integrity, while Taiwan says it’s merely a transit stop.China regards Taiwan as a breakaway province to be retaken by force if necessary and prohibits its diplomatic partners – including the U.S. – from having formal ties with Taipei. While not recognizing Taiwan as a country, Washington maintains robust unofficial ties and has pledged to help Taiwan defend itself in case of an invasion.A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said at a briefing in Beijing that China had lodged formal protests with the U.S. over Lai’s visit next month. “China is firmly opposed to any form of official exchanges between the United States and Taiwan,” spokeswoman Mao Ning said. “We firmly reject Taiwan independence separatists visiting the U.S. under any name and for any reason, as well as any form of the U.S. con...

Australian man and his dog rescued by Mexican tuna boat after drifting 3 months in the Pacific Ocean

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:19:24 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — An Australian sailor who had been adrift at sea with his dog for three months has been rescued by a Mexican tuna boat in international waters, the fishing vessel’s owner said Monday.Timothy Lyndsay Shaddock, 54, was aboard his incapacitated catamaran Aloha Toa in the Pacific some 1,200 miles from land when the crew of the boat from the Grupomar fleet spotted them, the company said in a statement. The company said Shaddock and his dog Bella were in a “precarious” state when found, lacking provisions and shelter. The tuna boat’s crew gave them medical attention, food and hydration, it said. Grupomar did not provide specific details on what day Shaddock was rescued or when he had started his voyage.The tuna boat, captained by Oscar Meza Oregón, was expected to arrive in the Pacific coast port of Manzanillo on Tuesday with Shaddock and Bella.Antonio Suárez Gutiérrez, Grupomar’s founder and president, said he was proud of his crew, praising them for t...

BC Coroner issues safety alert over wildfire smoke after child’s death

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:19:24 GMT

VICTORIA — British Columbia’s coroner has issued a public safety bulletin about wildfire smoke, saying the death of a nine-year-old boy had been “confirmed by his parents” to have been related to a medical condition aggravated by the smoke. The service says the “sudden and unexpected” death of Carter Vigh of 100 Mile House is a heartbreaking loss for his family and the community, and an investigation is underway. The boy’s aunt, Anamaria Vigh, said on Facebook that he died from asthma last week in hospital.There are more than 370 wildfires burning in B.C. and air-quality alerts due to wildfire smoke cover a large section of the province. The BC Coroners Service says in a statement that as the province experiences greater impacts from the effects of climate change, residents are learning more about the risks associated with wildfire smoke, extreme heat and other environmental factors.The statement says residents can protect themselves from the smok...

After years of delay, Western Balkans hope for progress on joining the EU – and financial support

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:19:24 GMT

TIRANA, Albania (AP) — The leaders of several Western Balkan countries that want to join the European Union met informally Monday in Albania’s capital, Tirana, to prepare for a summit on their progress in preparing for future membership. At an informal lunch, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama welcomed his counterparts from Montenegro, Serbia and North Macedonia, and EU Enlargement Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi.Albania plans to host an Oct. 16 summit on the Berlin Process, an initiative from Germany and France to encourage the six Western Balkans countries that aren’t already in the EU to keep working to align their policies and practices with the bloc’s.The six countries — Serbia, Kosovo, Bosnia, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Albania — are at different stages of integration into the bloc. In 2013, Croatia, also a Western Balkans country, became the EU’s newest member. Since then, progress has stalled. Rama said he expected “the summit to have a meaningful out...

Plane evacuation slide falls into backyard of Chicago home

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:19:24 GMT

CHICAGO (WGN) — Federal authorities are investigating after a plane's emergency evacuation slide fell into the backyard of a Chicago home on Monday. Chicago Police say they were called to the city's northwest side near O'Hare International Airport Monday afternoon where they found the slide had slightly damaged a home."They were just having lunch upstairs in our unit and they just heard a loud boom and I guess it hit the side of the building," said Patrick Devitt, a neighbor of the home where the plane debris fell. "The only thing that we were worried about at the beginning was like, oh yeah, it's real loud, stuff like that and you get used to it, but you never think that something like that is going to happen." Woman gored by bison at Yellowstone National Park suffers ‘significant injuries’ After officers arrived, the slide was moved out in front of the home into the street, where it was taken from the scene.No injuries have been reported from the incident.According to the Federa...

Mountain biker dies while trying to save dehydrated hikers in California

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:19:24 GMT

SAN DIEGO (KSWB) – A mountain biker died Saturday while trying to save four hikers who were found suffering from dehydration in Southern California, Cal Fire confirmed.A call came in around 2:45 p.m. reporting at least seven people in heat distress at Carrizo Gorge in San Diego County's Jacumba Mountains, officials said. Cal Fire ground crews and a sheriff's helicopter were called to assist.Upon arrival, Cal Fire says there were four hikers at least five miles away from the trailhead. The hikers had been rescued with the assistance of four mountain bikers who happened to be in the area. Two of those mountain bikers were at the bottom of the hill when emergency crews arrived, while the other two remained with the hikers. The temperature around the time crews arrived was reportedly about 106 degrees. Woman gored by bison at Yellowstone National Park suffers ‘significant injuries’ The sheriff's helicopter was used to transport the hikers from the trail. They were evaluated by paramed...

'This weekend was tragic:' Deadly Austin weekend highlights low APD staff numbers

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:19:24 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Austin's deadliest weekend so far in 2023 has some searching for more public safety solutions.Police are currently investigating one homicide from Saturday, and three from Sunday. As Austin Police Department Cpl. Jose Mendez provided an update at one of Sunday's homicide scenes, he — in an uncustomary move — addressed how APD staffing shortages have and will impact these current investigations. APD: 1 dead after ‘verbal altercation’ near abandoned building in east Austin “I know that the detectives are somewhat overwhelmed due to having a shortage of them,” Mendez said. Homicide detectives have had to pull double duty helping out with patrol shifts as APD works to fill roughly 300 officer vacancies. "It doesn't matter if it's homicide or some other crime. All of these detectives are being forced to go work patrol and supplement patrol shifts, so these caseloads are not getting picked up by other detectives," Jennifer Szimanski, public affairs director for the Com...

Gov. Abbott's border buoys on Rio Grande face pushback

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:19:24 GMT

EAGLE PASS, Texas (Nexstar) — The state's latest attempt at deterring migrants from crossing the Rio Grande into the U.S. is being met by legal concerns from Congressional members to a local business owner who is already suing Texas over its deployment of buoys to the Texas-Mexico border.Last week, Texas began installing the buoys and razor wire near Eagle Pass. In early June, Gov. Greg Abbott announced the initiative by using a natural disaster declaration, touting it as another strategy in his Operation Lone Star to prevent migrants from crossing. State leaders said in turn, the physical deterrent would hopefully lead to fewer migrant deaths related to drowning while swimming across the Rio Grande.On Friday, the incoming secretary of foreign affairs for Mexico, Alicia Bárcena, said that the buoys violate various water treaties between Mexico and the United States. She told reporters that Mexico sent a letter to the U.S. in June, reminding federal leaders that Texas' flot...

True story of woman sex trafficked at 14 told in play at Concordia University Tuesday

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:19:24 GMT

After being sex trafficked at 14 and managing to escape that life, Jennifer Gaines has devoted her life to helping women in the same situation.Her true story will be performed as a play, “The Survivor Story Spotlight,” at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 18, at the E.M. Pearson Theater at Concordia University in St. Paul.The play will be performed by several actresses portraying Gaines at different points in her life.“It’s my story,” she said. “It’s how it happened, some of the things that happened to me, how it affected me, and how I got out,” she said in an interview Sunday.The play also highlights the continuing need for more human trafficking prevention and victim-survivor services, she said.“We want people to understand the vulnerabilities that put children at risk of trafficking, the barriers that prevent victims from getting out of the life, the hurdles that keep survivors trapped long-term, and the truth that we all have a hope an...

Ramsey and Washington County’s food scrap recycling program to expand this fall

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:19:24 GMT

Maplewood Mayor Marylee Abrams got the news on Sunday that Ramsey and Washington counties will be soon expanding a pilot program and collecting food scraps from all residents in her city.On Monday, Abrams joined officials from the counties and the three other test cities — Cottage Grove, Newport and North St. Paul — to learn more about the expansion of the program and to tour a new addition at the Ramsey/Washington Recycling & Energy Center in Newport that was designed to support what will soon be the largest residential co-collection food scrap recycling programs in the state.The 24,000-square-foot addition, funded in part by $7 million from the 2020 bonding bill, is designed to sort more materials from the trash, including food scraps and organic-rich materials. Once the system is up and running to specifications, the food scraps will be composted. Eventually, officials say, the materials will be turned into renewable natural gas.“This is such a great opportunity f...