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‘This is the best fire department:’ New Prince William County chief sworn in

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:51:57 GMT

Deputy County Executive Daniel Alexander, right, administers the oath of office to Prince William County Fire and Rescue System Chief Thomas LaBelle Monday at the McCoart Government Center. (Courtesy InsideNoVa.com)This article was written by WTOP’s news partner InsideNoVa.com and republished with permission. Sign up for InsideNoVa.com’s free email subscription today.Prince William County Fire and Rescue System Chief Thomas Labelle came on duty Monday after a swearing-in ceremony at the McCoart Government Center.LaBelle, who will lead the system that includes eight volunteer fire and rescue departments, will be responsible for the county’s Fire, Emergency Medical Services and Emergency Management Services. He will be paid an annual salary of $215,000.Former Fire and Rescue Chief Timothy Keen retired at the start of September after three years as chief and more than 40 years with the county.Prince William County Chair At-Large Ann Wheeler welcomed LaBelle to the county during Monday’...

Leeds hires Sam Allardyce as manager after firing Gracia

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:51:57 GMT

LEEDS, England (AP) — Sam Allardyce made an unlikely return to the Premier League on Wednesday when the 68-year-old former England coach was hired by Leeds until the end of the season after the relegation-threatened club fired manager Javi Gracia.Allardyce’s last coaching role was at West Bromwich Albion for the second half of the 2020-21 season, when he failed in his short-term mission to keep the team in the Premier League.That hasn’t stopped Leeds from turning to Allardyce, previously regarded as a survival specialist, as the replacement for Gracia, who leaves after two months in the job and after winning only three of his 12 games in charge.Leeds lost five of its seven games in April and conceded 23 goals in that period — the most allowed in a single month in Premier League history. Gracia’s last game proved to be the 4-1 loss at Bournemouth on Sunday.The team is in fourth-to-last place in the standings, only out of the relegation zone on goal difference with four games remainin...

Springboks’ Kolisi has surgery, in race to make World Cup

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:51:57 GMT

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — South Africa’s team doctor said Wednesday it was too early to predict whether captain Siya Kolisi will be available for the Springboks’ Rugby World Cup title defense after undergoing knee surgery.Kolisi had the operation on Friday after sustaining a partial tear to the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee playing for the Durban-based Sharks against Ireland’s Munster on April 22.Springboks doctor Jerome Mampane is monitoring Kolisi’s recovery and isn’t ready to give a timeframe for the flanker’s return.“Mampane said it was too early to make any reliable forecasts on when Kolisi may be able to return to play,” SA Rugby said in a statement.Springboks coach Jacques Nienaber wished Kolisi well in his recovery, adding: “We know that he will do everything possible to return to play soon as possible.”The World Cup in France kicks off on Sept. 8, giving Kolisi a four-month window to recover from the surgery. He’...

Serbian police say 8 children, guard killed in shooting at Belgrade school

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:51:57 GMT

BELGRADE (AP) — Serbian police say 8 children, guard killed in shooting at Belgrade school.Source

Leeds hires Sam Allardyce as interim manager after firing Javi Gracia

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:51:57 GMT

LEEDS, England (AP) — Leeds hires Sam Allardyce as interim manager after firing Javi Gracia.Source

Fatal crash involving school bus, scooter rider in Northwest Miami-Dade

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:51:57 GMT

A fatal crash occurred in Northwest Miami-Dade involving a school bus and a motor scooter. Officials said the bus stopped with its equipment activated to let off children at the intersection of Northwest 79th Street and 13th Court when a man on a scooter crashed into the rear of the bus. Miami-Dade Police officers were dispatched to the scene just before 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday.Miami-Dade Fire Rescue transported the scooter rider to Jackson Memorial Hospital in critical condition, but he later died from his injuries.Thankfully, there were no reported injuries to any of the children on the bus, but the driver was treated for minor pains. Video footage from the scene showed a significant police presence and road closures as investigators gathered the evidence of the crash.

Record Heat Possible this Wednesday

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:51:57 GMT

The nice and dry weather pattern rolls on this Wednesday courtesy of a west-east wind flow over the Florida Peninsula, aiding in the hot and quiet stretch. Expect hazy skies this Wednesday, especially this morning, courtesy of some upper level clouds streaming in from our south and west. This will not take off any degrees from the heat, however, with highs across Miami-Dade and Broward into the upper 80s to low 90s. At least humidity won’t be too hot so temperatures will feel about the same as the actual readings.In Miami, the forecast high of 91F would tie the record of 91F set back more than 100 years ago!The sunshine and hot temperatures will persist Thursday and Friday with sunny skies and highs a touch lower but still above normal into the upper 80s.Then beginning this weekend, winds will veer from the east-southeast late week to the southeast this weekend, allowing for more moisture to flow into South Florida. This will therefore increase our rain chances with isolated t...

Ukraine’s Zelenskyy to visit Berlin on May 13

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:51:57 GMT

BERLIN — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will visit Berlin on May 13, local police said Wednesday.A spokesperson for the Berlin police department told POLITICO that Zelenskyy will travel to the German capital at the invitation of Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Local newspaper B.Z. first reported Zelenskyy’s upcoming visit.Zelenskyy, who has been in close contact with Scholz since the beginning of the war, said in an interview a few months ago that there were “ups and downs in the relationship with Germany.” Ukraine has pushed for Berlin to deliver more weapons more quickly for it to use in battle against invading Russian forces. According to media reports, Zelenskyy is expected to land at the military section of the Berlin airport and then check into the Ritz-Carlton hotel at central Potsdamer Platz.He will then be officially received with military honors by Scholz on May 14. Talks and a press conference are planned, according to B.Z. Around 12 p.m., a discussion with German ...

Serbia school shooter kills at least 9, officials say

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:51:57 GMT

At least eight children and a security guard were killed Wednesday morning in a shooting at an elementary school in Vračar, a Belgrade suburb, the Serbian interior ministry said in a statement.Six children and one teacher were also injured in the attack, the statement said, adding that police had arrested a suspect, born in 2009, in the schoolyard.Mass shootings are rare in Europe — unlike in the U.S., where gun violence is a politically divisive issue lawmakers have long struggled to address.Among the most recent mass shootings on the Continent was an attack at a secondary school near Stuttgart, Germany, in 2009 in which a teenage gunman killed 15 people.Serbia has the third highest rate of civilian firearms holdings in the world — tied with Montenegro, but far behind the U.S. and Yemen — with 39.1 firearms per 100 residents, according to the Small Arms Survey, published in 2018.

Report: Over 250 million people faced acute food insecurity in 2022

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:51:57 GMT

More than 250 million people faced severe hunger last year, with people in seven countries on the brink of starvation, according to a United Nations-led report published on Wednesday.The fallout of the war in Ukraine, including high food prices, was the major driver of hunger, particularly in the world’s poorest countries, which have still not recovered from economic shocks triggered by COVID-19. Conflicts were another key factor, along with climate change and extreme weather events. Some 258 million people in 58 countries or territories faced crisis or worse levels of acute food insecurity in 2022 — a sharp increase from 193 million in 2021.Last year was the fourth year in a row that the number in urgent need of food aid has risen, according to the Global Report on Food Crises released today by the U.N.’s Food and Agriculture Organization, the World Food Programme, the World Bank, the EU, the U.S. and members of the Global Network against Food Crises. “The latest figures ...