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Tampa Bay Rays finalizing new ballpark in St. Petersburg as part of a larger urban project

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:06:58 GMT

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — The playoff-bound Tampa Bay Rays put the finishing touches Tuesday on plans for a new 30,000-seat ballpark in St. Petersburg as part of a huge $6.5 billion development project that includes affordable housing, retail, bars and restaurants and a Black history museum.The site is on the same 86-acre (34-hectare) tract of downtown land where Tropicana Field now sits. That domed, oddly-tilted ballpark will be demolished once the new one is built, in time for Opening Day 2028, said Brian Auld, co-president of the Rays, in an interview Monday.The plan, which still has some political hurdles on funding and approvals to clear, would keep the Rays in St. Petersburg for the foreseeable future despite constant talk of the team moving across the bay to Tampa, possibly to Nashville, Tennessee, and even a plan to split home games with Montreal that was shot down by Major League Baseball.“We’re going to be here for a very long time,” Auld said. “We’re all rea...

Almost 50 children from occupied Ukrainian regions arrive in Belarus, sparking outrage

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:06:58 GMT

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Belarusian state media reported that 48 children from Ukraine arrived in Belarus on Tuesday from Ukrainian regions which Moscow claims it has annexed.The group of children came from the occupied Donetsk, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia regions. They include children from towns which were captured by the Russian army in July 2022. Those regions were illegally annexed by Moscow in December last year, but Russia doesn’t have full control over them.In photos published by the Belarus state news agency Belta, the children were pictured holding the red and green state flag of Belarus and reportedly thanked the Belarusian authorities, while being flanked by police and riot police.The removal of the children from Ukraine was organized by a Belarusian charity, supported by President Alexander Lukashenko, which has previously organized health recuperation programs for Ukrainian children in Belarus. “The president, despite external pressure, said this important humanitari...

International Criminal Court says it detected ‘anomalous activity’ in its information systems

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:06:58 GMT

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The International Criminal Court said Tuesday that it detected “anomalous activity affecting its information systems” last week and took urgent measures to respond. It didn’t elaborate on what it called a “cybersecurity incident.”Court spokesman Fadi El Abdallah said in a written statement that extra “response and security measures are now ongoing” with the assistance of authorities in the Netherlands, where the court is based.“Looking forward, the Court will be building on existing work presently underway to strengthen its cyber security framework, including accelerating its use of cloud technology,” his statement added.The court declined to go into any more detail about the incident, but said that as it “continues to analyse and mitigate the impact of this incident, priority is also being given to ensuring that the core work of the Court continues.”The ICC has a number of high-profile investigations and preliminary inquiries underway in na...

Watchdog finds mismanagement, ‘disturbing’ lack of disclosure at Defence Department

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:06:58 GMT

OTTAWA — A federal watchdog says the Department of National Defence committed wrongdoing by contravening a law designed to help whistleblowers. Public sector integrity commissioner Joe Friday released what he described as “disturbing” findings today related to disclosures by department. He found that the Defence Department and the Canadian Armed Forces have a pattern of keeping the public in the dark when it comes to internal investigations of wrongdoing.Friday’s report says that when his office launched an investigation in 2020, the department hadn’t updated a web page about public disclosures of wrongdoing since 2015. He says whistleblower reports had resulted in three findings of wrongdoing, but information about the cases wasn’t made public until until 2021 and 2022, after Friday launched his investigation. Friday says there is gross mismanagement within the department and the lack of transparency doesn’t live up to the department’s lega...

US issues more sanctions over Iran drone program after nation’s president denies supplying Russia

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:06:58 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. on Tuesday imposed sanctions on seven people and four companies in China, Russia and Turkey who officials allege are connected with the development of Iran’s drone program. The U.S. accuses Iran of supplying Russia with drones used to bomb Ukrainian civilians as the Kremlin continues its invasion of Ukraine.The latest development comes after Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi denied his country had sent drones to Russia for use in the war in Ukraine. “We are against the war in Ukraine,” President Raisi said Monday as he met with media executives on the sidelines of the world’s premier global conference, the high-level leaders’ meeting at the U.N. General Assembly.The parties sanctioned Tuesday by Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control include: An Iranian drone company previously sanctioned in 2008, now doing business as Shahin Co., its managing executives, a group of Russian parts manufacturers and two Turkish money exchangers, Mehmet Tokdemir and A...

Woman struck, killed by vehicle in Joliet; driver cited

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:06:58 GMT

JOLIET, Ill. — A woman was struck and killed Monday night by a vehicle in Joliet.Just after 7:15 p.m., police responded to the area of McDonough Street and South Larkin Avenue on the report of a crash involving a pedestrian.Police determined a Ford 250 pickup truck, driven by Matthew Ortelli, 33, of Joliet, turned left heading westbound on McDonough. Police said a 49-year-old woman, who was believed to be in the roadway, was struck by the truck.The woman was transported to the hospital where she was pronounced dead.Police said Ortelli originally left the scene but returned a short time later. Following questioning, he was cited for failure to give information and rendering aid. Joliet man sentenced to 35 years in prison for bludgeoning, sexually assaulting brother’s girlfriend Anyone with information is encouraged to call police at 815-724-3010.

Working from home could cut carbon footprint in half: research

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:06:58 GMT

(The Hill) -- The trend of working from home could be a big benefit for the environment, according to a new study released this week. Remote work could cut a person’s carbon footprint by as much as 58 percent, the researchers said.“The growth in remote and hybrid work catalyzed by the COVID-19 pandemic could have significant environmental implications,” researchers wrote for the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the U.S. (PNAS).Researchers studied five aspects of work life — IT, power use at home and at the office and travel for commuting and non-commuting activities. Most of the carbon savings comes from transportation, with the other four aspects having a negligible impact on the environment.Hybrid work is enough to have a measurable effect, too, with taking a few days a week working from home saving as much as 29 percent in carbon impact, according to the study. Massachusetts agencies to halt all purchases of single-use plastic bottles However, those ...

Mama bear and cubs enjoy quick swim in California backyard

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:06:58 GMT

LOS ANGELES (KTLA) – A couple in Los Angeles found some unexpected guests enjoying their backyard amenities last month, when a mama bear and her two cubs were spotted taking a dip in their pool.  Homeowners Jon and Karen Von Gunten say the bears came out of Rowley Canyon, which connects to the Angeles National Forest, in search of a place to cool down in the scorching temperatures.  Video shows burglar bear taking dip in neighbor’s pool The couple captured a video of the bears taking a quick dip in the pool and enjoying some fun play time, before heading back into the forest. “I’m just glad I wasn’t in the pool,” said one of the homeowners while recording the video. Throughout the summer months, bear sightings and encounters have become more frequent in Southern California. In July, a similar video in the same city showed a mother bear and a cub splashing around in a hot tub.Also in July, a viewer shared video to Nexstar's KTLA of another bear sp...

Watch: Man breaks into L.A. home being fumigated

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:06:58 GMT

LOS ANGELES (KTLA) – A Los Angeles resident trying to get rid of unwanted pests in her home ended up being a victim of a burglary. Surveillance video shows a burglar stealing valuables as the house was being fumigated. It’s the second time in a week burglars have targeted LA-area homes being fumigated. The homeowner says she is extremely upset and feels violated, but she is thankful no one was home at the time of the break-in, and that her family is safe. “It’s actually been a little bit of a nightmare,” said Alexis Gilliam-Lerner. “They cut the screen, cut the tent, came into my home, and they were just in my home taking things from me."A suspect is seen climbing through the window of a home in Mar Vista during a burglary. (Alexis Lerner)Gilliam-Lerner says the suspect made entry from the backyard. She’s not exactly sure how he got back there, but she does believe she knows how he got inside. “This window was open a little bit,” she said. “They needed to get the tube...

Art History teacher can proceed with religious discrimination lawsuit against Hamline University

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:06:58 GMT

A U.S. District Judge has ruled that an art history teacher who showed paintings of the Prophet Mohammed in class can proceed with a lawsuit claiming that Hamline University discriminated against her on the basis of religion.However, other claims brought by Erika López Prater of emotional distress, retaliation and defamation were dismissed in the order by U.S. District Judge Katherine Menendez in St. Paul.An attorney representing Hamline, Mark Berhow of Hinshaw & Culbertson, released a statement Monday night in response to the decision:“We are encouraged that the Court dismissed Plaintiff’s claims for reprisal, defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and retaliation in response to our motion and, as the case progresses, look forward to demonstrating that the sole remaining claim is also without merit.”Attorneys for López Prater could not be reached Monday night.Reverent paintings, student offendedAfter being hired to teach a class on world art, Lópe...