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A bombing at a checkpoint in Somalia killed at least 18 people, authorities say

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:50:48 GMT

By OMAR FARUK (Associated Press)MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — An explosives-laden vehicle detonated Saturday at a security checkpoint in the central Somalia city of Beledweyne, killing at least 18 people and wounding 40 others, authorities said.Abdirahman Dahir Gure, the interior minister of Hirshabelle state, announced the toll to journalists.“Twenty of the wounded have been admitted to Beledweyne hospitals, while another 20 are in critical condition, prompting a request for their airlift to Mogadishu for advanced medical treatment,” he said. Hirshabelle is a state that includes Beledweyne, which is the capital of the Hiran region and has been the center of the Somali government’s latest military offensive against extremists from East Africa’s al-Qaeda affiliate, al-Shabab.Images on social media showed black smoke billowing and a smashed truck cab blazing at the checkpoint.Dr. Suleyman Abdi Ali, the director of Beledweyne General Hospital, said the bodies ...

Californians in these counties may still have to pay taxes

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:50:48 GMT

The tax extension California residents in certain counties received due to the severe winter weather that plagued the state last year is quickly approaching.Californians who have yet to file their taxes have until Oct. 16 to do so, which is a few weeks away.The tax extension also applies to Californians who need to file federal business tax returns or make tax payments. Angelenos who make $70,000 a year are still considered ‘low-income’ Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the tax extension in March.“As communities across the state continue recovering from the damage caused by the winter storms, California is working swiftly to help recovering Californians get back on their feet,” Newsom said in a statement. “The state is aligning with the Biden Administration and extending the tax filing deadline in addition to the tax relief announced earlier this year.”Here is a list of the California counties that are eligible for the filing extension:AlamedaAlpineAmadorButteCalaverasColusaContra Costa...

Why is gas cheaper across the street?

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:50:48 GMT

You just filled up your tank, only to see another station selling cheaper gas just a few blocks away, but why? What causes differences in gas prices between locations? Experts say it comes down to a few key factors, according to KTLA sister station WBOY.CompetitionWhen it comes to gas being cheaper across the street, AAA East Central's Public and Legislative Affairs Manager Jim Garrity said pricing is primarily a tactic to get you to spend money at the convenience store, not the pump."[Gas stations] make the majority of their profits in the concession and then the convenience stores that they operate," Garrity said. "Gas stations do not actually make much at the pump." Gas prices surge to almost $6 per gallon in Los Angeles area If a gas station is just slightly farther away from another station, it might cut its gas prices to get people to go just a little bit further to spend money there instead. However, the price of a gallon of gas is ultimately dictated by the owner of the ga...

FBI Warned Sikhs in the U.S. About Death Threats After Killing of Canadian Activist

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:50:48 GMT

After the brazen killing of a high-profile Canadian Sikh activist in June, FBI agents visited several Sikh activists in California this summer with an alarming message: Their lives were also at risk.The warnings have taken on a new urgency after Canada’s bombshell revelation on Monday that it has credible intelligence pointing to Indian government involvement in the assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian citizen and advocate for an independent Sikh state, who was shot dead outside a Sikh temple in British Columbia.Pritpal Singh, a political activist and U.S. citizen who is a coordinator for the American Sikh Caucus Committee, told The Intercept that he and two other Sikh Americans involved in political organizing in California received calls and visits from the FBI after Nijjar was killed.“They did not tell us specifically where the threat was coming from, but they said that I should be careful.”“I was visited by two FBI special agents in late June who told me that they h...

México usará retenes para disuadir a migrantes de subirse a trenes de carga con destino a EEUU

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:50:48 GMT

CIUDAD DE MÉXICO — Autoridades mexicanas se comprometieron el viernes a instalar retenes para disuadir a los migrantes de subirse a trenes de carga en dirección a la frontera con Estados Unidos.El anuncio se efectuó en una reunión entre funcionarios mexicanos de seguridad e inmigración con un representante de la Oficina de Aduanas y Protección Fronteriza de Estados Unidos (CBP, por sus siglas en inglés) en Ciudad Juárez, limítrofe con territorio estadounidense.Los migrantes se están subiendo a los trenes en tal cantidad que Ferromex, la compañía ferroviaria más grande de México, dijo esta semana que suspendería los recorridos de 60 trenes de carga debido a cuestiones de seguridad, ya que han ocurrido diversos fallecimientos y lesiones.El Instituto Nacional de Migración de México (INM) no indicó dónde se colocarán los puestos de control ni cómo se disuadirá o detendrá a los migrantes. En 2014, autoridades mexicanas estuvieron deteniendo trenes durante un breve periodo para hacer desc...

Un viaje de 7 años para transportar una muestra de asteroide a la Tierra terminará pronto en Utah

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:50:48 GMT

(CNN) — Es la pequeña nave espacial que pudo hacerlo.El 8 de septiembre de 2016, la sonda OSIRIS-REx  fue lanzada con el ambicioso objetivo de convertirse en la primera misión de la NASA en recolectar una muestra de un asteroide cercano a la Tierra y traerla a nuestro planeta.Cada paso del viaje de siete años ha sido inesperado, lleno de desafíos y momentos récord que piden a gritos la atención de Hollywood.La nave espacial del tamaño de una furgoneta de carga llegó a la órbita alrededor del asteroide Bennu en diciembre de 2018, proporcionando imágenes detalladas de la roca espacial con forma de peonza giratoria. Bennu es esencialmente un montón de escombros unidos por la gravedad.Y cuando OSIRIS-REx se acercó para recolectar una muestra, el evento reveló que la superficie del asteroide es como un pozo de bolas de plástico, que podría haber engullido a la nave espacial si no hubiera retrocedido rápidamente.Una muestra de asteroide está a punto de aterrizar en la Tierra. Esto e...

Playoff-bound and injury-depleted Rays put 2B Brandon Lowe on IL with fractured right patella

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:50:48 GMT

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — The playoff-bound and injury-depleted Tampa Bay Rays put second baseman Brandon Lowe on the 10-day injured list with a fractured right patella on Saturday.Lowe was hurt Thursday when he hit a foul ball off his leg.The Rays selected the contract of outfielder Raimel Tapia from Triple-A Durham. To make room on the the 40-man roster for Tapia, right-hander Calvin Faucher was recalled from Durham and placed on the 60-day IL due to right biceps tendinitis.Tampa Bay outfielder Luke Raley went on the 10-day IL on Friday with a cervical strain. He joined center fielder Jose Siri, who has been out since Sept, 12 with fractured right hand.All-Star left fielder Randy Arozarena left Friday’s game with right quadriceps tightness and is day to day. Reliever Jason Adam also departed Friday’s game with an oblique injury.Four Tampa Bay starting pitchers, ace Shane McClanahan, Drew Rasmussen. Jeffrey Springs and Shane Baz, have missed part or all of this season...

67-foot putt helps Ewen Ferguson move into share of 3rd-round lead with Jordan Smith at French Open

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:50:48 GMT

SAINT-QUENTIN-EN-YVELINES, France (AP) — Helped by a remarkable birdie putt from 67 feet, Scottish golfer Ewen Ferguson shot 4-under 67 on Saturday to finish the third round of the French Open tied for the lead with Jordan Smith.The undoubted highlight of Ferguson’s round came at the par-4 13th and it drew him level with Smith on 13 under.Smith, the overnight leader, immediately regained the lead with a birdie at No. 14 but three-putted for bogey at the last to shoot 70 and drop back to 13-under 200 alongside Ferguson.They are one shot ahead of Kazuki Higa of Japan (65) and two clear of Yannik Paul of Germany (67). Smith and Ferguson are bidding for their third victories on the European tour. Both of Ferguson’s came last year while Smith’s were in 2017 and 2022.___AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golfSource

German carmakers ‘afraid’ of China retaliation, economy minister warns

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:50:48 GMT

BERLIN — German carmakers are “afraid” that they could be hit by retaliation if the EU were to impose duties on Chinese electric vehicles as a result of a new anti-subsidy probe, German Economy Minister Robert Habeck warned.In strikingly frank comments during a panel discussion in Berlin on Friday, Habeck also admitted that there is a Franco-German divide over the anti-subsidy investigation, which was announced by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen earlier this month and has sparked fears of a trade war with Beijing. Habeck said that France, which had pushed strongly for such an EU probe into Chinese e-vehicles, was selling far fewer cars in China than German automakers and had therefore less to lose in a potential tit-for-tat escalation with Beijing over car tariffs.“German cars are sold well in China,” the German economy minister said at the Atlantic Council’s Transatlantic Forum on GeoEconomics. “Now Ursula von der Leyen propose...

Biden agrees to send US long-range missiles to Ukraine

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:50:48 GMT

U.S. President Joe Biden promised his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, that the United States will soon provide Kyiv with a small number of long-range missiles to help its war with Russia, according to two U.S. officials familiar with the matter.Biden made the pledge to Zelenskyy during the Ukrainian leader’s visit to the White House on Thursday, fulfilling a long-held wish by Kyiv, according to the officials who like others for this story were granted anonymity to speak about private conversations.The Army Tactical Missile Systems will likely be delivered to Ukraine in the coming weeks. The White House declined to comment on the matterThe news is a major win for Zelenskyy and officials in Kyiv, who have long sought the missiles. ATACMS have a range of 45 to 190 miles and Ukrainians have long argued that they are crucial to striking deep behind entrenched Russian positions along a 600-mile front line.NBC first reported the news that the missiles had been approve...