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Busiest holiday travel season in years is off to a smooth start with few airport delays

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:15:42 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — The holiday travel rush hit its peak Friday as mild weather and lower flight cancelation rates raised hopes for merrier drivers and airline passengers than last year.U.S. airlines are predicting a blockbuster holiday season and have projected confidence they can handle the crowds after hiring thousands of pilots, flight attendants and other workers, seeking to avoid the delays and suspensions that marred travel last year and culminated with the Southwest Airline debacle that stranded more than 2 million people.Airlines have canceled just 1.2% of U.S. flights so far this year, the lowest in five years, but bad weather is always a threat. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has warned the government will be holding the airlines accountable to operate smoothly and treat passengers well if there are disruptions. Earlier this week, Transportation Department announced a settlement in which Southwest will pay $140 million for its meltdown last year. Early Friday, there ...

Ash from Indonesia’s Marapi volcano forces airport to close and stops flights

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:15:42 GMT

PADANG, Indonesia (AP) — Volcanic ash spewing from Indonesia’s Mount Marapi shut down airports and blanketed nearby communities on Sumatra island Friday.The nearly 2,900-meter (9,480-foot) volcano in the Agam district of West Sumatra province is about 113 kilometers (70 miles) north of Minangkabau International Airport in Padang, the provincial capital.On Dec. 3, Marapi shot thick columns of ash as high as 3 kilometers (more than 9,800 feet) that killed 23 climbers and injured several others who were caught by a surprise weekend eruption.Smaller eruptions since then spewed more ash into the air, and on Friday the volcano began belching ash that reduced visibility hundreds of kilometers away, said Indra Saputra of Indonesia’s Center for Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation.Minangkabau airport was closed Friday afternoon after ash, which can pose a deadly threat to aircraft, reached its airspace.Airport authority head Megi Hemiadi said two international flights from Ku...

SIU investigating after man shot by officer’s less-lethal firearm in Toronto’s west end

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:15:42 GMT

The province’s police watchdog has been called in to investigate after a man was struck by an officer’s non-lethal weapon in Toronto’s west end on Thursday.The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) says Toronto police officers were called to Roncesvalles Avenue south of Dundas Street around 3:40 p.m. for reports of a man who was threatening people walking by.Responding officers deployed a taser at the man before an officer fired a less-lethal weapon at him.The man was arrested and taken to hospital to be checked out. The SIU says the man was not injured in the incident.“The man did not sustain any serious injury, but the SIU’s mandate was invoked because a police officer discharged a less-lethal weapon, which is classified as a firearm,” reads a release.The police watchdog’s mandate is invoked anytime an officer discharges a firearm of any kind.

Biden set to sign executive order aimed at financial facilitators of Russian defense industry

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:15:42 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is set to sign an executive order giving the U.S. Treasury Department the authority to target financial institutions that facilitate Russia’s efforts to bolster its defense industry.The new sanctions authority is meant to gum up the Kremlin’s push to restock the Russian military’s depleted arsenal after nearly 22 months of fighting in Ukraine. Russia has already lost over 13,000 pieces of equipment, including tanks, drones and missile systems, according to a U.S. assessment.The White House said Biden plans to sign the order later on Friday.“We expect financial institutions will undertake every effort to ensure that they are not witting or unwitting facilitators of circumvention and evasion,” Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a statement announcing the order. “And we will not hesitate to use the new tools provided by this authority to take decisive, and surgical, action against financial institutions that facilitate ...

Gymnastics star Simone Biles named AP Female Athlete of the Year a third time after dazzling return

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:15:42 GMT

There were jitters, of course. Considering all that happened, how could there not be?When Simone Biles walked onto the floor at a suburban Chicago arena in late July for her first gymnastics competition in two years, she knew plenty of people were wondering how it was going to go. “I thought that too, don’t worry,” Biles said with a laugh.By the end of one rotation, the most decorated gymnast of all time realized she was back in her safe space. By the end of August, she was a national champion. Again. By October, she was a world champion. Again.And by December, she was The Associated Press’ Female Athlete of the Year.Yes, again.Her triumphant return that included her record eighth U.S. national championship and a sixth world all-around gold made Biles the sixth woman to claim the AP honor for a third time. The 26-year-old seven-time Olympic medalist was followed by Iowa basketball star Caitlin Clark and Ballon d’Or winner Aitana Bonmati of the World Cup champion Spanish ...

French President Emmanuel Macron will be the guest of honor at India’s Republic Day celebrations

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:15:42 GMT

PARIS (AP) — India has invited French President Emmanuel Macron to be the chief guest at the country’s national day celebrations next month, in what Macron’s office described on Friday as a powerful gesture for the two nations’ ties.The visit for Republic Day on Jan. 26 will be Macron’s third to India as president. The event marks the 74th anniversary of the adoption of India’s Constitution on Jan. 26, 1950, nearly three years after it won independence from British colonial rule. India’s official guest in January 2023 was Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sissi, for a 90-minute parade that ended with a flyby featuring 75 air force fighters, including French-made Rafale jets, transport planes and helicopters.Previous French guests for the event have included all of Macron’s immediate predecessors as France’s president: François Hollande, Nicolas Sarkozy and Jacques Chirac.Macron’s office described the invitation as “an extremely ...

Khan ordered released on bail in official secrets case in Pakistan. But he won’t be freed right away

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:15:42 GMT

ISLAMABAD (AP) — In a surprise ruling, Pakistan’s Supreme Court on Friday ordered the release of former Prime Minister Imran Khan and one of his party deputies on bail in a case involving the revelation of official secrets after his ouster last year.But Khan — currently serving a three-year sentence in jail in a graft case — won’t be freed right away because he still faces two other corruption cases. Khan faces possible death if he is found guilty of revealing official secrets. Khan is accused of revealing a classified cable that was sent to Islamabad by Pakistan’s ambassador in Washington when the former premier was in power. Khan says he didn’t disclose the exact content of the cable.Khan and Qureshi have been asked to submit surety bonds of 1 million rupees (about $3,600) to secure bail.Friday’s ruling, which Khan’s defense team viewed as a legal victory and a political boost, was issued over charges of the former premier revealing state secrets when he waved an...

Friday Forecast: Temps in upper 40s with spotty showers

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:15:42 GMT

CHICAGO — Cloudy conditions Friday with spotty showers possible in the morning. Interactive Radar: Track showers and storms here Widespread rain is expected this afternoon as highs in the mid to upper 40s. Widespread rain this evening leads the tapering showers overnight as temperatures fall into the lower 40s. SATURDAY FORECAST: Cloudy with the potential for drizzle or isolated showers on Saturday with highs in the lower 50s.Full forecast details and more at the WGN Weather Center blog

Federal court revives lawsuit against Nirvana over 1991 'Nevermind' naked baby album cover

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:15:42 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A federal appeals court on Thursday revived a child sexual exploitation lawsuit filed by the man who appeared naked as a 4-month-old on the cover of Nirvana’s 1991 album “Nevermind.” Spencer Elden's lawsuit against the grunge rock group alleges that he has suffered “permanent harm” as the band and others profited from the image of him underwater in a swimming pool, appearing to grab for a dollar bill on a fish hook. The suit says the image violated federal laws on child sexual abuse material, although no criminal charges were ever sought.A federal judge in California threw out the lawsuit last year but allowed Elden to file a revised version, which the judge later dismissed on grounds that it was outside the 10-year statute of limitations of one of the laws used as a cause of action.Thursday's decision by a three-judge panel of the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in California reversed that ruling and sent the case back to the lower court.The appellate panel f...

GraphCast: Is AI weather model the forecasting future?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:15:42 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Google entered the field of weather forecasting with the debut of their GraphCast AI weather computer model. KXAN Meteorologist Nick Bannin spoke with UT Austin Professor Liang Yang about the model and its benefits and potential flaws.KXAN Meteorologist Nick Bannin: Liang Yang, UT professor at the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences joins us. So Google recently announced their AI weather computer model known as GraphCast. What do you make of it so far?Liang Yang, UT Austin Professor: Yeah, this is revolutionary news, and, indeed, Google's GraphCast is a very intriguing development in AI weather for weather modeling. And this actually one of the recent developments, following other similar developments elsewhere, like in China, and in Europe. So this leverages advanced technologies to predict weather patterns. My initial impression suggests this holds promise, especially considering Google's track record in AI applications.Bannin: Now, how did this new GraphCas...