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Russia says a Ukrainian missile strike hit its Black Sea Fleet headquarters, a serviceman is missing

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:35:06 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine carried out a fiery missile strike Friday on the main headquarters of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet and one serviceman was missing, the Russian Defense Ministry said. Photos and video showed large plumes of smoke over the building in Sevastopol in annexed Crimea.The ministry initially said one servicemember was killed but then issued a subsequent statement saying he was missing.The Russian-installed governor of Sevastopol, Mikhail Razvozhayev, said no one was injured outside the burning headquarters, and he didn’t provide information on other casualties. Firefighters battled the blaze, and more emergency forces were being brought in, an indication the fire could be massive.Sevastopol residents said they heard explosions in the skies and saw smoke, Russian news outlets reported. Images circulated in Ukrainian Telegram channels showed clouds of smoke over the seafront. The Associated Press could not immediately verify the videos.A stream of ambulances arr...

Stock market today: Wall Street higher, but likely not enough to this turn losing week into a winner

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:35:06 GMT

Wall Street ticked modestly higher early Friday, but not nearly enough to erase a week of losses driven by the potential for an era of consistently higher interest rates.Futures for the S&P 500 edged 0.2% higher while the Dow Jones industrials rose just 0.1%. Markets are poised to finish the week with significant losses after the Federal Reserve left its benchmark borrowing rate alone Wednesday, with officials at the central bank signaling that they may cut rates next year by only half a percentage point. Investors had been hoping for bigger, faster cuts to interest rates.Even with no increase at two of its past three meetings, the Fed has raised its benchmark borrowing rate 11 times in the past year-and-a-half in its bid to extinguish persistent inflation. High rates tend to hit high-growth stocks particularly hard, and Big Tech companies have been among the market’s biggest losers this week.The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite has tumbled almost 6% this week, twice the decline of t...

Targeted strikes may spread to other states and cities as midday deadline set by auto workers nears

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:35:06 GMT

The nation’s biggest automakers – and car buyers everywhere — will learn Friday whether the United Auto Workers union will escalate its strike over a demand for higher wages, a shorter work week and other benefits.UAW President Shawn Fain is expected to announce whether the union will expand a weeklong strike that has so far been limited to three plants – one each at Ford, General Motors and Stellantis.Fain said earlier this week he would call on workers at more plants to strike unless there was significant progress in contract negotiations with the carmakers. Bargaining continued Thursday, although neither side reported any breakthroughs, and they remained far apart on wage increases.The strike so far involves fewer than 13,000 of the union’s 146,000 members. The companies have laid off a few thousand more, saying some factories are running short on parts because of the strike.Still, the impact is not yet being felt on car lots around the country – it will probably take a few...

The wild boar paradox and the future of nuclear energy

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:35:06 GMT

In today’s Big Story Podcast, in many regions of Europe, wild boars roam the landscape. Also, they’re radioactive. For a long time, it was assumed the Chernobyl disaster was the cause, and that’s still partly true. But the real answer goes back even further and offers us a glimpse of how the by-products of nuclear technology can lay dormant for decades, only detected in the most visible part of a system we’re still learning to understand.Becky Ferreira, a science writer and regular contributor at Motherboard, is on today’s episode.“I think it was a really huge shock because nobody had really considered that the weapons testing would still be around in that quantity,” said Ferreira.This is the wild boar paradox, and this is what it can teach us about nuclear technologies past, present and future.You can subscribe to The Big Story podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google and Spotify.You can also find it at thebigstorypodcast.ca.

A Chinese dissident in transit at a Taiwan airport pleads for help in seeking asylum

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:35:06 GMT

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — A Chinese dissident known for posting pictures on social media commemorating the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown said Friday he had fled to Taiwan and pleaded for help seeking asylum in the United States or Canada.In a video that appeared to be self-shot and posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, Cheng Siming said he was in the transit area at Taoyuan International Airport.“In order to hide from China’s political persecution, I have now arrived in Taiwan,” Cheng said in the video, which was posted about 7 a.m. He added that he hopes to get asylum in the U.S. or Canada.In an interview with Taiwan broadcaster TBVS, Chen said he took the opportunity to transit in Taiwan because it’s a “democratic and free country” and that it was safer than going through Thailand or Laos.It is unclear how Cheng was able to travel to Taiwan, and The Associated Press has not been able to reach him for comment. Taiwan is a self-governing island that is claimed by China.In May,...

Woman killed in hit-and-run on South Side

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:35:06 GMT

CHICAGO — A woman was killed in a hit-and-run in the city's Washington Park neighborhood.Police responded to a traffic crash on the 5900 block of South King Drive around 10:47 p.m. Thursday. Upon arrival, officers discovered a woman, in her 40s, on the ground in the middle of the road.The woman was transported to the University of Chicago Medical Center where she was pronounced dead.According to police, further investigation found the woman was struck by a vehicle, which then fled the scene.Police said it does not appear the victim was in a crosswalk. Man charged with 1st degree murder in South Side strangling investigation No one is in custody. Area One Detectives are investigating.

Dean's Weekender: 'Birthday Candles,' Bryan Callen and more

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:35:06 GMT

Check out Dean's Weekender for the latest events coming to the Chicagoland area this weekend.Get Dean's reviews and A-List interviews delivered right to your inbox. Sign up for Dean's Downloads weekly newsletter. You'll also get his Dean Cooks recipes too!

Dean's Reviews: 'Dumb Money'

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:35:06 GMT

Check out Dean's reviews on the new film 'Dumb Money' that hits theaters Friday.Get Dean's reviews and A-List interviews delivered right to your inbox. Sign up for Dean's Downloads weekly newsletter. You'll also get his Dean Cooks recipes too!

East Coast under tropical storm warning with landfall forecast in North Carolina

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:35:06 GMT

MIAMI (AP) — A storm moving closer to the U.S. East Coast will deliver tropical storm conditions to North Carolina on Friday, the National Hurricane Center said.The storm was off the coast of South Carolina and North Carolina early Friday with top sustained winds of 50 mph (85 kph). Cities preparing for flooding, storm surges in Hampton Roads, NC As of Friday morning, the storm was located about 330 miles (530 kilometers) southeast of Charleston, South Carolina, and about 325 miles (525 kilometers) south Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, and moving north around 14 mph (22 kph), the center said.Rainfall of 3 to 5 inches (7.6 to 12.7 centimeters), with localized amounts up to 7 inches (17.7 centimeters), was expected across eastern North Carolina and into southeast Virginia through Saturday, the center said.Though the system had reached tropical storm strength, it was yet to be given a name and the center was still referring to it as Potential Tropical Cyclone Sixteen on Friday mornin...

Meet the director, costume designer keeping one of Austin's oldest Ballet Folklórico groups alive

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:35:06 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — A traditional Mexican dance with historic roots is alive and well in Texas’ capital city.  If you ask long-time Austinites, much of the credit is owed to a man named Chuy Chacon.“My first name is Jesus, but everyone knows me as Chuy Chacon," the director and costume designer for Roy Lozano's Ballet Folklórico de Texas in Austin said. Stitch by stitch, one of the most important parts of the traditional Mexican folk dance, starts in a small room behind Chacon’s dance studio.  "Some of the costumes take about 12 yards of fabric," Chacon said. "It has to have a lot of fabric for the movement.”Through his costumes and choreography, Chaon has had a hand in captivating audiences for generations.  “Ballet Folklórico represents the traditions, the music and the costumes for a nation…every country has a folklore," he said. “Here in Texas, we celebrate more [of] the folklore from Mexico because we are very close...a lot of skirts, a lot of ladies trying to flirt ...