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American Red Cross declares national blood shortage due to low donor turnout and climate disasters like Hurricane Idalia

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:58:28 GMT

(CNN) — The American Red Cross is sounding the alarm that the United States’ blood supply has fallen by nearly 25% since early August, to what it describes as “critically low levels.”The organization, which provides about 40% of US blood and blood components, announced on its website Monday that this national blood shortage is potentially threatening the medical care of patients who might have an emergency need for blood or those who depend on lifesaving blood transfusions for conditions such as cancer or sickle cell disease.As donor turnout fell in August, the Red Cross announced that it saw a shortfall of about 30,000 donations last month alone, amid a busy summer travel season and back-to-school activities.In its announcement, the Red Cross also pointed to “back-to-back months of worsening climate-driven disasters” as further straining the blood supply since some blood drives had to be canceled due to extreme weather, for instance.Just a couple of weeks a...

Chicago Cubs are calling up top prospect Pete Crow-Armstrong, who hit .271 at Triple-A Iowa in 34 games

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:58:28 GMT

As the Chicago Cubs try to lock down a playoff spot, they have not shied away from giving opportunities to younger, less experienced players.That trend continues as they begin a six-game road trip. The Cubs are calling up top prospect Pete Crow-Armstrong, sources told the Tribune. ESPN first reported the move.Crow-Armstrong, 21, gives the Cubs elite defense and speed at all three outfield positions for the stretch run to the postseason. Acquired from the New York Mets at the 2021 trade deadline for shortstop Javier Báez and right-hander Trevor Williams, Crow-Armstrong opened the year at Double-A Tennessee.Since his promotion to Triple-A Iowa on Aug. 1, the lefty-hitting Crow-Armstrong put up a .271 average, .350 on-base percentage and .829 OPS in 34 games.The Cubs currently have four players on their 26-man roster who began in the season at the Double-A level or lower — right-hander Daniel Palencia, left-hander Jordan Wicks, catcher Miguel Amaya and left-hander Luke Littl...

Libyan prime minister says 2,000 people believed dead in flooding in eastern Libya following storm

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:58:28 GMT

By SAMY MAGDY (Associated Press)CAIRO (AP) — At least 27 people were reported dead Monday in flooding in eastern Libya, but one of the country’s leaders said as many as 2,000 or more are feared dead after Mediterranean storm Daniel caused devastating floods over the weekend in the North African nation. In a phone interview with al-Masar television station Monday, Prime Minister Ossama Hamad of the east Libyan government said that 2,000 were feared dead in the eastern city of Derna, and thousands of others are reported missing. He said the floods have swept away entire neighborhoods in Derna, which has been declared a disaster zone.Othman Abduljaleel, the health minister of the east Libya government, announced a death toll earlier Monday of 27 in a telephone interview on the Saudi-owned satellite news channel Al-Arabiya. Abduljaleel said the tally didn’t include the city of Derna, where the situation was less clear as of Monday afternoon. The dead reported by Abdulj...

Google’s dominance of internet search faces major challenge in legal showdown with U.S. regulators

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:58:28 GMT

By MICHAEL LIEDTKE (AP Technology Writer)The U.S. government is taking aim at what has been an indomitable empire: Google’s ubiquitous search engine that has become the internet’s main gateway.The legal attack will swing into full force Tuesday in a Washington D.C. federal courtroom that will serve as the battleground for the biggest U.S. antitrust trial since regulators went after Microsoft and its dominance of personal computer software a quarter century ago.The 10-week trial before U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta is expected to include potentially revelatory testimony from top executives at Google and its corporate parent Alphabet, as well as other powerful technology companies. Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, who succeeded Google co-founder Larry Page in 2019, will be among the most prominent witnesses likely to testify. Court documents also indicate one of Apple’s highest-ranking executives, Eddy Cue, might be called to the stand.The case against Google mirrors the...

Escaped murderer Danelo Cavalcante flees search area, changes look and asks acquaintances for help

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:58:28 GMT

By MARC LEVYAuthorities searched Monday for an escaped murderer who has eluded capture since breaking out of a southeastern Pennsylvania prison a week and a half ago after they said over the weekend he slipped out of the search area, changed his appearance, stole a dairy delivery van and tried to contact acquaintances.Chester County residents were asked to be on the lookout and keep vehicles and homes locked as the search for Danelo Souza Cavalcante continued, state police said on social media Monday morning. Lt. Col. George Bivens of the Pennsylvania State Police said Sunday that Cavalcante stole the unlocked van, which had the keys inside, sometime Saturday night about three-quarters of a mile (1.2 kilometers) from the northern perimeter of the search area where hundreds of law enforcement officers had been searching for him. Bivens vowed to “aggressively continue” the search with the aid of federal, state, county and local resources and expressed confidence that the f...

Oregon man charged in brutal 1979 hammer slay

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:58:28 GMT

An Oregon man is being charged with the brutal 1979 cold case killing of a Pennsylvania woman who was found bludgeoned to death at a Beacon Street construction site.John Michael Irmer is expected at Boston Municipal Court today where he’ll be charged with murder in connection with the brutal slay of Susan Marcia Rose, 24, of Pennsylvania.Irmer, now 68, approached the FBI in Portland, Oregon and told agents he met the red-headed  Rose at a skating rink around the time of Halloween in 1979, according to the Suffolk DA’s office. The two made their way to Beacon Street and entered a building under renovation where Irmer grabbed a hammer and repeatedly struck Rose in the head, according to the DA’s office.Irmer fled to New York the next day, he told FBI agents.Investigators with the DA’s office confirmed Rose was found murdered at 285 Beacon Street. The cause of death was determined to be blunt injuries to the head.DNA evidence was preserved from the scene and that matched a sample obtai...

Rogers ordered to open TTC wireless network to all carriers: Minister

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:58:28 GMT

TORONTO — Rogers Communications Inc. must grant all wireless carriers access to its cellular network in core parts of Toronto’s downtown subway by Oct. 3.Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne says the deadline is part of new spectrum licence conditions, designed to bring cellphone and data services to the entire subway network by the end of 2026.Currently, only Rogers and Freedom Mobile customers have access to the network.The minister is giving mobile carriers, including rivals Bell and Telus, until Dec. 20 this year to reach commercial agreements with Rogers about financial terms.The government says that if carriers fail to meet the conditions, it could take measures including fines or licence suspension.In August, Rogers unexpectedly launched its 5G wireless service for its own customers in downtown subway stations and tunnels despite ongoing discussions with the government, drawing frustration from Bell and Telus. This report by The Canadian Press was first publish...

Bosnia court confirms charges against Bosnian Serb leader Dodik for defying top international envoy

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:58:28 GMT

SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP) — A court in Bosnia said Monday it has confirmed an indictment against Bosnian Serb separatist leader Milorad Dodik on charges of defying the top international envoy overseeing peace in the Balkan country. Bosnian prosecutors filed the charges last month but the indictment had to be approved by the court to become valid. If tried and convicted, Dodik could face up to five years in prison. Dodik has rejected the charges and sought to present them as an attack on the Serb entity in Bosnia, which is called Republika Srpska and comprises about half of the country of some 3.2 million people. The other half is run by Bosnia’s Bosniaks, who are mainly Muslim, and Croats.Bosnia’s two ministates were established in a 1995 peace deal that ended ethnic carnage in which more than 100,000 people died and millions were displaced. A shaky peace has persisted since then, but ethnic divisions remain deep as tensions recently escalated. Dodik has constant...

Chile marks 50 years since the coup that ushered in a brutal military dictatorship

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:58:28 GMT

SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — Chile on Monday was commemorating the 50th anniversary of the coup led by Gen. Augusto Pinochet, which ushered in a brutal military dictatorship that lasted almost 17 years.The commemoration began with a ceremony at the La Moneda presidential palace, which was bombed by warplanes at the start of the coup.The military regime led by Pinochet violated human rights and brutally persecuted opponents, imprisoning and torturing thousands who were opposed to the regime. It Ieft a toll of 3,200 killed, including 1,469 disappeared. A half-century later, 297 have been convicted of crimes against humanity and 1,300 cases are ongoing.U.S. Special Presidential Advisor for the Americas Christopher J. Dodd was leading the U.S. government delegation to Chile, according to the State Department. The U.S. government backed the 1973 coup and the Chilean government is pushing Washingtont to declassify documents that could shed light on the era.The date is marked by political polari...

Music Review: A little too much beauty and not enough beast on new Pretenders album, ‘Relentless’

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:58:28 GMT

Chrissie Hynde ‘s talent is a musical gift from heaven, a one-of-a-kind voice that powered her band, the Pretenders, into creating some of rock’s most memorable songs in the 1970s and ’80s.Drawing out words into more syllables than they came with (like the way “back on the train” becomes “back on the trai-hayne” in the 1982 hit “Back on the Chain Gang,”) her performance can be smooth and beautiful, and it can be raw and rocking.On the band’s latest album, “Relentless,” Hynde and guitarist James Walbourne opt heavily for the former, and perhaps a bit too much.After the brooding, minor chord mourning opener, “Losing My Sense of Taste,” and the following track “A Love,” a direct descendant of classic ’60s pop, the band snuggles down into a protracted series of slow-paced, evocative songs.There’s no other word except “drowsy” to describe some of these tracks, including “The Copa,” “Promise of Love” and “I Think About You Daily.” You’...