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UN aid chief says Ukraine faces `hugely worse’ humanitarian situation after the dam rupture

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:37:32 GMT

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The humanitarian situation in Ukraine is “hugely worse” than before the Kakhovka dam collapsed, the U.N.’s top aid official warned Friday.Undersecretary-General Martin Griffiths said an “extraordinary” 700,000 people are in need of drinking water and warned that the ravages of flooding in one of the world’s most important breadbaskets will almost inevitably lead to lower grain exports, higher food prices around the world, and less to eat for millions in need“This is a viral problem,” he said in an interview with The Associated Press. “But the truth is this is only the beginning of seeing the consequences of this act.”The rupture of the Kakhovka hydroelectric dam and emptying of its reservoir on the Dnieper River on Wednesday added to the misery in a region that has suffered for more than a year from artillery and missile attacks. Ukraine holds the Dnieper’s western bank, while Russian troops control the low-lying eastern side, which is more vulnerable to ...

New Mexico reaches $500M settlement with Walgreens in opioid case

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:37:32 GMT

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico has settled with Walgreens for $500 million over the pharmacy chain’s role in distributing highly addictive prescription painkillers. The agreement was signed in March, and state officials confirmed that a confidentiality provision on the agreement was lifted Friday. The settlement is in addition to $274 million in settlements obtained in the case last fall from Albertsons, CVS, Kroger and Walmart. Attorneys representing the state say that, in all, New Mexico’s opioid litigation has brought in more than $1 billion. They argued at trial last year that Walgreens failed to recognize suspicious prescriptions and refuse to fill them.“I’m optimistic this will help in the fight against the opioid crisis and provide the treatment New Mexicans so desperately need,” Luis Robles, one of the attorneys who worked on the case, told the Santa Fe New Mexican.Over the past few years, drug manufacturers, distribution companies, pharmacies and other companies with role...

Wildfire pollution can cause headaches, skin irritation

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:37:32 GMT

The air pollution caused by smoke from wildfires in Ontario and Quebec can no doubt lead to various respiratory problems, but there are a number of other, less obvious health impacts that could crop up.Dr. Samantha Green from Unity Health Toronto explains that wildfire smoke “is made up of a whole soup of pollutants.”“The one group of pollutants we think most about are Particulate Matter 2.5 (PM 2.5), and those are the very tiny particulates that can not only [affect] the eyes, the nose, the throat, the lungs, but they actually get deep, deep into the lungs and can enter the bloodstream,” she explains.“Within an hour of exposure to wildfire smoke, we can document widespread inflammation in the body.”Inflammation leads to pain and she says people most often complain of headaches in this context.“The larger particulate matter, PM 10, is what can cause those kinds of irritating symptoms. So the eye irritation, runny nose, sore throat, and even ...

Key moments in Trump indictment: Flaunting classified material, stowing boxes in Mar-a-Lago bathroom

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:37:32 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department detailed stunning allegations against former President Donald Trump in a criminal indictment unsealed Friday, including allegations he stored classified documents in a bathroom and shower at his Florida club, flaunted the documents to people without security clearances and at times tried to conceal material from his own lawyers as well as investigators. In the indictment, prosecutors spell out the types of classified material the Republican presidential candidate is accused of keeping at his Florida beach club after he left office in 2021, along with where he is said to have kept them and what he did with them. A look at key moments as described in the indictment:FLAUNTING DOCUMENTSIn July 2021 at Trump’s Bedminster, New Jersey, golf course, the former president showed a writer, a publisher and two of his staff members — none of whom had a security clearance — a “plan of attack” that had been prepared by the Defense Department and a sen...

Firefighters from France arrive to battle blazes as wildfire smoke lingers

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:37:32 GMT

Firefighters from France arrived in Canada to help Quebec face a marathon wildfire season while most evacuation orders were lifted in Nova Scotia nearly two weeks after intense infernos caused thousands to flee their homes. Meanwhile, wildfire smoke that hung over Toronto for several days cleared Canada’s most populous city Friday, but the hazy skies persisted in other parts of Ontario and Quebec and blanketed much of the west as 420 wildfires continued to burn across the country. The arrival of firefighters from France and New Brunswick bolstered efforts in Quebec to fight 140 fires. “The sprint phase has ended and we’re now in the marathon phase,” said Maïté Blanchette Vézina, the province’s minister of forests and natural resources.There is expected to be about 1,200 people fighting fires in the province by Monday, including hundreds of firefighters from the United States, Portugal and Spain who were expected to arrive in the coming days. Quebec Prem...

Officer who raced to Parkland massacre scene testifies against deputy who stayed outside

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:37:32 GMT

PARKLAND, Fla. (AP) — A police officer who rushed into a high school building during the 2018 Parkland shooting testified Friday that a sheriff’s deputy outside confirmed that the shooter was upstairs.The former Broward County deputy, Scot Peterson, is on trial for failing to confront the shooter who killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High. He has insisted since he spoke to investigators two days after the massacre that he couldn’t tell where the gunshots were coming from, and that he thought they may have been fired outside.On the third day of Peterson’s trial, Coral Springs officer Richard Best related what he says Peterson told him outside the classroom building, WPLG-TV reported. “I said, ‘Hey brother, what do we got?’” Best told the jury. “He said, ‘Gunshots second or third floor.’”Peterson, 60, could be sentenced to nearly a century in prison if convicted.“It is understood that the longer you wait, the more damage is being done,” Best said. “Every time yo...

Judge in FTX bankruptcy rejects media challenge, says customer names can remain secret

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:37:32 GMT

DOVER, Del. (AP) — The names of individual customers of collapsed cryptocurrency exchange FTX Trading can be permanently shielded from public disclosure, a Delaware bankruptcy judge ruled Friday.Following a two-day hearing, Judge John Dorsey rejected arguments from lawyers for several media outlets and for the U.S. bankruptcy trustee, which serves as a government watchdog in Chapter 11 reorganization cases, challenging FTX’s request to keep the names of customers and creditors secret.Dorsey ruled that customer identities constitute a trade secret. He also said FTX customers need to be protected from bad actors who might target them by scouring the internet and the “dark web” for their personal information.“It’s the customers that are the most important issue here,” he said. “I want to make sure that they are protected and they don’t fall victim to any types of scams that might be happening out there.”Katie Townsend, an attorney for the media outlets, had argued that the press ...

Commission to revise plan to provide noise relief to residents near O'Hare International Airport

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:37:32 GMT

CHICAGO — The FAA is planning to revisit a plan to address the noise from Chicago's O'Hare International Airport.From January to March, the Chicago Department of Aviation received more than 9,000 complaints from residents who live near the airport. Over $600K worth of counterfeit watches, socks, sunglasses seized at O’Hare People who live along Hillside Drive in Bensenville said the noise of the planes is something they experience dozens of times a day and during the night."We can't sleep, can't go outside, the vortex is terrible, the planes are terrible," Leonarda Gonzalez, who has lived in the area for 39 years, said.In addition to the nose, the trailing wind vortices that follow the planes are sometimes strong enough to damage homes."The vortex winds tore off my roof and part of the overhang on the front," Mark Keane said. "So I had to spend $11,000 and put 130 mph shingles on my roof so it wouldn't happen." United plans to hire 15,000, adding to surge in airline jobs These r...

What's ahead in Chicago sports this weekend

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:37:32 GMT

CHICAGO — The second weekend in June features a split of teams that are home and away, as south side baseball fans and local soccer fans have options in Chicago. Meanwhile, the north siders along with the WNBA team in town are hitting the road out west for a few games from Friday through Sunday. The Cubs are facing the Giants in San Francisco as they hope to have a better finish to the road trip after a tough series in Anaheim, where they were swept by the Angels in three games. They'll face the Giants for a trio of contests starting Saturday.After taking 2-of-3 from the Yankees in New York, the White Sox make a quick stop home to for an interleague series against the Marlins starting Friday. With three contests against Miami, they can try to creep closer to first place in the AL Central Division, where they sit just 3 1/2 games out of first place. Off to a 5-3 start, the Chicago Sky are on the west coast for a pair of games, facing the Sparks in Los Angeles to start on Friday. Then...

Second woman accuses country star Jimmie Allen of sexual assault

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:37:32 GMT

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) – A second woman has accused country star Jimmie Allen of sexual assault.The woman, identified only as "Jane Doe 2," filed a federal lawsuit Friday.The lawsuit claims that in early May 2022, she met Allen on a plane to Nashville. While she did not know who Allen was, Allen's bodyguard allegedly followed her to the airport and told her that Allen wanted her phone number.While in Nashville, Allen took the victim and her friends for a night out on the town and then told the women he was leaving to tour but would keep in touch, the lawsuit says.Over the next several months, the woman and Allen allegedly spoke via FaceTime and text message several times per day. It was during this time Allen allegedly led her to believe he was currently separated from his wife, loved her, and wanted to marry and have children with her, believing she would also be a good stepmother for his children, according to the lawsuit.After months of talking long-distance, the alleged victim ...