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Monday may have set a global record for the hottest day ever. Tuesday broke it

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 19:22:10 GMT

The entire planet sweltered for the two unofficial hottest days in human recordkeeping Monday and Tuesday, according to University of Maine scientists at the Climate Reanalyzer project.For two straight days, the global average temperature spiked into uncharted territory. After scientists talked about Monday’s dramatic heat, Tuesday soared 0.17 degrees Celsius (0.31 degrees Fahrenheit) even hotter, which is a huge temperature jump in terms of global averages and records.The same University of Maine climate calculator — based on satellite data and computer simulations — forecasts a similar temperature for Wednesday that would be in record territory, with an Antarctica average that is a whopping 4.5 degrees Celsius (8.1 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than the 1979-2000 average. High temperature records were surpassed July 3 and 4 in Quebec and northwestern Canada and Peru. Cities across the U.S. from Medford, Oregon to Tampa, Florida have been hovering at all-time highs, said Zack Ta...

Environmental activists disrupt play at Wimbledon during match on Court 18

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 19:22:10 GMT

WIMBLEDON, England (AP) — Two environmental activists ran onto one of the courts during the Wimbledon tennis tournament on Wednesday and disrupted a match by throwing confetti onto the grass.A pair of Just Stop Oil protesters made it onto the field of play at Court 18 before being taken away by security.Play was suspended by rain before the debris was cleared from the court.The All England Club increased its security in coordination with London police and other agencies for this year’s tournament, in part as a result of protests at other major sports venues in Britain this year.___AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis and https://twitter.com/AP_SportsThe Associated Press

Ukraine and Russia accuse each other of preparing imminent attack on Europe’s biggest nuclear plant

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 19:22:10 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine and Russia accused each other Wednesday of planning to attack one of the world’s largest nuclear power plants, which is located in southeastern Ukraine and occupied by Russian troops, but neither side provided evidence to support their claims of an imminent threat. The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant has been a focus of concern since Moscow’s forces took control of it and its staff in the early stages of the war. Over the last year, the U.N.’s atomic watchdog repeatedly expressed alarm over the possibility of a radiation catastrophe like the one at Chernobyl after a reactor exploded in 1986.While Russia and Ukraine regularly traded blame over shelling near the plant that caused power outages, Ukraine has alleged more recently that Moscow might try to cause a deliberate leak in an attempt to derail Kyiv’s ongoing counteroffensive in the surrounding Zaporizhzhia region.Citing the latest intelligence reports, Ukrainian President Volodymyr...

Rain again affects play at Wimbledon day but matches go ahead under the roof on Centre Court

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 19:22:10 GMT

WIMBLEDON, England (AP) — Rain is again affecting play at Wimbledon on Day 3 of the grass-court tournament.Intermittent showers Wednesday forced matches on the outside courts to be suspended twice, while play in the main stadiums was also stopped for a short time because of the weather.Only Centre Court and No. 1 Court at the All England Club have roofs. Top-seeded woman Iga Swiatek and defending men’s champion Novak Djokovic were both scheduled to play on Centre Court after the opening match between Daria Kasatkina and Jodie Burrage.On No. 1 Court, third-seeded Daniil Medvedev was playing Arthur Fery.Only eight matches were completed at Wimbledon on Tuesday because of persistent rain, creating a huge backlog for the tournament.On Wednesday, players like Swiatek and Djokovic will be playing in the second round while many players have yet to even take the court in the first round.___AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis and https://twitter.com/AP_SportsThe Associated Press

France’s Supreme Court rejects groups’ request for slavery reparations in case from Martinique

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 19:22:10 GMT

PARIS (AP) — France’s highest court has rejected a request by three groups seeking reparations for slavery in a case that originated on the French Caribbean island of Martinique.The court’s decision on Wednesday said that no individual produced evidence showing they had “suffered individually” any damage from the crimes that their ancestors had been subjected to.Slavery was abolished in France in 1848, but before that had a significant slave trade, shipping more than 1 million Africans to colonies in the Americas. The International Movement for Reparations and two other groups launched efforts in pursuit of reparations in 2005. French courts have repeatedly rejected their request, but the European Court of Human Rights kept their efforts alive by making their claims admissible.A lawyer pursuing the case for reparations, Patrice Spinosi, in an emailed statement called the court’s decision “a new missed opportunity. But the fight continues.” Spinosi said the groups would again approac...

Bobcat that attacked a camper in Connecticut tests positive for rabies

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 19:22:10 GMT

LYME, Conn. (AP) — A bobcat that attacked a camper in a hammock at a Connecticut state park has tested positive for rabies.The man was among several adults leading a group of young campers last week in Selden Neck State Park, an island in the Connecticut River in Lyme, the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection said in a news release Monday.The man was sleeping early Friday when the bobcat attacked him, the department said. He and two other adult leaders subdued the animal and killed it, officials said.All three men were taken to a hospital with injuries inflicted by the cat. None of the children on the outing came into contact with the animal, authorities said. “When unprovoked attacks do occur, they are generally disease or illness related,” Paul Copleman, a spokesperson for the department, said in a statement. “While rabies is not as common in bobcats as some other mammal species, they can contract the virus.”Treatment after exposure to rabies to prevent developm...

German Cabinet approves a lower 2024 budget as it eyes a return to financial ‘normality’

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 19:22:10 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s Cabinet on Wednesday approved a draft 2024 budget that foresees lower spending, with defense among the exceptions, as Europe’s biggest economy sticks to rules limiting borrowing that were suspended during the coronavirus pandemic.The government’s plan calls for spending of 445.7 billion euros ($486 billion), down 6.4% from the 476.3 billion euros it expects to spend this year.Defense spending is set to rise by 1.7 billion euros to some 51.8 billion euros, some way short of what the defense minister initially sought. Germany plans to reach a NATO target of spending 2% of gross domestic product on defense next year, a measure on which it has long fallen short, with help from a special 100 billion-euro fund set up to modernize the German military after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Berlin aims to meet the target via its regular budget later this decade.“Security, economic prosperity and industrial fitness for the future, climate neutralit...

Sean “Diddy” Combs’ dispute with Diageo deepens as court unseals business details

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 19:22:10 GMT

Rapper, producer and entrepreneur Sean “Diddy” Combs is asking the New York Supreme Court to enforce a 2021 agreement that requires spirits seller Diageo to treat his DeLeon tequila brand “at least as favorably” as its other tequila brands.Combs signed and agreement with Diageo – which owns more than 200 brands including Guinness beer and Tanqueray gin – after what he says were years of neglect for DeLeon, a brand he established with the London company in 2013.Combs’ lawsuit against Diageo was filed in May. But many details, including the 2021 agreement, were redacted at the time. On Wednesday, those details were released after Judge Joel Cohen ruled that Diageo could keep only limited portions confidential.Combs says Diageo’s treatment of DeLeon worsened after it bought two competing tequila brands: Don Julio in 2014 and Casamigos in 2017. Combs, who is Black, says Diageo positioned his tequila as an inferior “urban” brand and limited its distribution. Diageo has ...

‘It could happen again’: Lac-Mégantic demands better rail safety ahead of disaster’s anniversary

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 19:22:10 GMT

A decade after a runaway train carrying crude oil derailed and exploded in Lac-Mégantic, killing 47 people, some say there has not been enough progress in rail safety.The southeastern Quebec town is set to mark the 10-year anniversary of the July 6, 2013, tragedy with a series of sombre commemorations. The disaster in the rural town of 6,000 in the Eastern Townships of Quebec was Canada’s deadliest railway accident in over a century.A coalition of citizens who have advocated for better rail safety say their voices are not being heard.“It’s really frustrating… We don’t feel that our authorities protect us,” said Gilbert Carette, a coalition member who has been living in Lac-Mégantic for 36 years. We are raising the red flag that this place is dangerous. It’s a daily combat.”“I do believe frankly and sadly that it could happen again.”Some Lac-Mégantic residents are even taking it upon themselves to inspect the rails.Trains continue to pass through the town day and night, down the same...

Layover, cramped seating, security lines: A day with players on a WNBA commercial flight

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 19:22:10 GMT

Breanna Stewart knew where she wanted to go. Someone was in her way. During games, that’s not a problem for the WNBA MVP. While boarding a commercial flight, it’s a bit trickier.On a recent connecting flight carrying the New York Liberty from Atlanta to Las Vegas, Stewart had to ask a man in the aisle seat to get up briefly so she could contort her 6-foot-4 frame through the row before settling in her window seat as the passengers in line behind her patiently waited. The man politely complied, perhaps unaware that one of the best players in the women’s game would be sharing his overhead bin space for the next four hours.Such is how it works for WNBA players. When flying, they’re just like everybody else.Unlike NBA teams that charter flights, WNBA teams primarily fly commercial per the collective bargaining agreement. The league has said it would cost about $25 million to charter for the entire season or approximately $2 million per team. The Associated Press traveled last week...