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Wildfire evacuations ease in Osoyoos, B.C., after frightening weekend

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:50:42 GMT

Hundreds of people are being allowed to return to their homes in Osoyoos in southern British Columbia after winds pushed back a wildfire that threatened the town over the weekend.The town endured a terrifying night on Saturday after the Eagle Bluff fire crossed the border with the United States and surged over hills overlooking Osoyoos.Erick Thompson of the Regional District of Okanagan Similkameen says at a briefing that there are 192 properties now on evacuation order, down from 732.But 2,632 homes are under evacuation alert, and their residents must be ready to leave at short notice.Winds have been a key factor in the battle to save Osoyoos, with Environment Canada calling for northwest winds through Monday before gusts of 20 kilometres per hour were forecast to ease late in the day.The BC Wildfire Service says that helped push the Eagle Bluff wildfire away from Osoyoos, less than two days after flames sparked in Washington state raced over the border.Shaelee Stearns of the BC Wi...

Greek prime minister seeks improved relations with Turkey but says Ankara must drop aggression

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:50:42 GMT

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Greece’s prime minister said Monday that his government wants to take full advantage of an improving political climate with neighboring Turkey in order to improve bilateral relations despite a string of decades-old disputes. But Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said that didn’t mean Turkey had “substantially changed” its stance on key differences between the two countries and must “decisively abandon its aggressive and unlawful conduct” against Greece’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.Turkey and Greece remain at odds over maritime boundaries in the eastern Mediterranean, a dispute that affects irregular migration into the European Union, mineral rights and the projection of military power.Mitsotakis said that he agreed with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, on July 11-12 to initiate new “lines of communication” and to maintain “a period of calm.”High-level talks between the the two countries ...

S&P/TSX composite gains more than 100 points Monday, U.S. markets also rise

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:50:42 GMT

TORONTO — Canada’s main stock index closed up more than 100 points Monday led by gains in tech and metals, while U.S. markets also rose. “What we’re seeing is more optimism around this soft landing narrative,” said Mona Mahajan, senior investment strategist with Edward Jones. With consumers appearing to hold up despite higher interest rates and the labour market remaining strong even as inflation moderates, investors are looking for continuous confirmation that central banks are on the right path. “I’d say there’s a little bit of, maybe, fatigue after such a strong run through last week,” Mahajan added, with markets appearing to take a breather on Monday.  The S&P/TSX composite index was up 107.27 points at 20,626.64.In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 100.24 points at 35,559.53.The S&P 500 index was up 6.73 points at 4,588.96, while the Nasdaq composite was up 29.37 points at 14,346.02.There’s more to come for investors this week tha...

Connecticut US Rep. Rosa DeLauro gets inked at age 80 alongside her 18-year-old granddaughter

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:50:42 GMT

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) — Connecticut U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro has stood out for years with her colorful clothing and hairstyle, but it took one of her six grandchildren to finally convince the 80-year-old lawmaker to complement her fashion-forward look with a tattoo.The Democrat revealed in a statement Monday that she and her granddaughter, who is now old enough to legally get a tattoo in Connecticut, got inked together. “For her 18th birthday, my granddaughter wanted to get a tattoo with me. So, we went together,” DeLauro said. “She’s off to college in the fall, and this strengthens our bond.”The design of the tattoo on her left upper arm is personal for DeLauro. It depicts a rose, which represents her name Rosa. The petal in the center of flower forms the letter “D” to represent her last name, and the bottom left of the rose has a stylized version of Italy, an homage to the country where her father immigrated from, said Daniel Robillard, her press assistant.DeLauro is far from the fi...

Islamic group suggests that member nations downgrade ties with countries that allow Quran burnings

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:50:42 GMT

BEIRUT (AP) — The Organization for Islamic Cooperation urged its member nations Monday to take action against countries that permit public burning or desecration of the Quran, including the recalling of ambassadors.The Saudi Arabia-based group made the call in a statement following an emergency online meeting of its foreign ministers to discuss recent incidents in which the Islamic holy book was burned or otherwise defaced at officially permitted protests in Sweden and Denmark.The organization’s 57 member countries should “consider taking any necessary decisions and actions that they deem appropriate in their relations” with Sweden, Denmark, and other countries that allow such incidents, including recalling their ambassadors, the statement said.It encouraged civil society organizations in the member states to work with counterparts in countries where the Quran has been burned or desecrated to file local lawsuits “before taking their cases to international judicial bodies...

18-year-old pedestrian killed in Grayslake crash ID'd

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:50:42 GMT

GRAYSLAKE, Ill. — The Lake County Coroner's Office has identified the 18-year-old from Grayslake who died after a traffic crash Saturday morning.The coroner said that 18-year-old Victoria Piela, of Grayslake, died from blunt force injuries as a result of the crash.According to the Grayslake Police Department, a fatal crash happened around 10:12 a.m. near the intersection of Washington Street and Atkinson Road involving two vehicles and a pedestrian, later identified as Piela.Preliminary investigation by emergency personnel showed a Ford Escape and a Ford F-350 with an attached trailer collided, causing the F-350 to leave the roadway and strike Piela, who was standing near the southeast corner of the intersection.Piela was taken to the hospital in critical condition, where she was later pronounced dead. Carthage College senior among two dead after driver crashes into Kenosha business The drivers from both vehicles involved in the crash were taken to area hospitals with non-life-thr...

Blackhawks' owners purchase another hockey team

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:50:42 GMT

CHICAGO — The owners of the Chicago Blackhawks completed a purchase of another hockey team on Monday.It's one that helps to develop players before reaching the NHL level - and has done well doing so the past few years.The Wirtz Corporation, who owns the Chicago Blackhawks, has now officially purchased the @USHL’s @ChicagoSteel..@WGNNews pic.twitter.com/J90zCSGipf— Larry Hawley (@HawleySports) July 31, 2023The Wirtz Corporation completed the purchase of the United States Hockey League's Chicago Steel on Tuesday, making the team the latest to join the company's business portfolio. It's the third hockey team that is owned by the corporation that was founded in 1926 by Arthur Wirtz and based in Chicago. They became full owners of the Blackhawks in 1966 and purchased the American Hockey League's Rockford IceHogs in April 2021.This acquisition comes just days after the death of company owner and CEO Rocky Wirtz at the age of 70 after a short illness on July 25. With his son Danny no...

Leprosy could become endemic in Florida as cases rise, CDC says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:50:42 GMT

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Florida is seeing a rise in leprosy cases that could mean the disease has become endemic in the Sunshine State, according to a letter published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.The letter, which was published in mid-July, said while leprosy is historically uncommon in the United States, cases more than doubled in the South over the last 10 years. Leprosy, also known as Hansen's Disease, is caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium leprae and is characterized by discolored patches of skin, ulcers, lumps and damage to the nerves.The CDC said if untreated, the disease can progress to paralysis, blindness, the loss of one's eyebrows, physical disfigurement, and even the "shortening of toes and fingers due to reabsorption." Pee-wee Herman star Paul Reubens dies at age 70 The Florida Department of Health said the disease first appeared in the state in 1921. The National Hansen's Disease Program found that 159 cases of leprosy were reported in 2020. Flor...

'Looks like a lot of history': California man searching for owner of photo album found in RV

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:50:42 GMT

(KTXL) — When Juan Garcia fell on hard times during the COVID-19 pandemic, he bought an RV to live in and started to clear out space inside. After cleaning the RV trailer, he discovered a portfolio containing old photos and documents that happened to get lost. Garcia has been trying to find the portfolio’s owner since stumbling upon it.“I hate for it to get lost, these are pretty old pictures,” Garcia told FOX40 News. “It looks like they mean something to somebody.”Juan Garcia is trying to find the owner a portfolio filled with old photos he found in an RV he bought in 2021. (Photos courtesy of Juan Garcia).One of the photos shows a man in a police uniform and one of the documents inside is a police academy certificate from 1951 for a man named Lewis Burndige, who Garcia assumes is in the picture of the uniform man. Garcia searched for Burndige’s family members on Facebook with no luck. The certificate is from the Des Moines Police Department in Iowa and the port...

Child, 8, attacked by cougar in Olympic National Park; saved by mother

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:50:42 GMT

PORT ANGELES, Washington (WJW) - An 8-year-old child was attacked by a cougar at Olympic National Park's Lake Angeles on Saturday evening.The child was with their family at Lake Angeles, south of Port Angeles, when the attack happened Saturday night, the National Park Service said Monday. "The cougar casually abandoned its attack after being yelled and screamed at by the child's mother," NPS wrote in a news release. The child suffered only minor injuries and was taken to a local hospital for evaluation. These are America’s deadliest national parks: data Park officials then evacuated the remaining campers in the Lake Angeles area, closing the space and Heather Park to the public. Olympic National Park wildlife biologist Tom Kay said in a statement that the decision to close the Lake Angeles Trail, Heather Park Trail, Switchback Trail, and the entire Klahhane Ridge Trail was made "out of an abundance of caution."Early Sunday morning, park law enforcement and wildlife personnel who ...