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Explosion hits a building in Paris, injuring 16. Police are trying to determine the cause

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:16:30 GMT

PARIS (AP) — A strong explosion hit a building in Paris’ Left Bank on Wednesday, leaving at least 16 injured and igniting a fire that sent smoke soaring over city monuments and prompted the evacuation of surrounding buildings, police said. The cause of the blast was not immediately known. The facade of a building in the 5th arrondissement, or district, collapsed and emergency services were working to determine if anyone was still inside, a Paris police official said. The explosion hit near the historic Val de Grace military hospital.Paris police chief Laurent Nunez told reporters there were 16 people injured, including seven in “emergency condition.” The authorities did not specify whether the injured were in life-threatening condition.The fire was contained but not extinguished, Nunez said. Florence Berthout, mayor of the arrondissement, said, “The explosion was extremely violent,” describing pieces of glass still falling from buildings.The polic...

Getting more EVs will require recycling more old batteries

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:16:30 GMT

By 2040, 20,500 kilotons of used electric vehicle batteries could enter the recycling stream every year — roughly the weight of a fully loaded Boeing 747 every 11 minutes — according to the consulting firm McKinsey & Company. That’s up from 50 kilotons in 2020.“All the people that are doing what we do are scrambling to basically get these facilities in place to get ready for that amount of material that’s going to be passing through the system,” says Roger Lin, vice president of global marketing and government relations at Ascend Elements, a battery recycling company.The environmental benefits of recycling are clear — pound for pound, recycled battery material typically emits much less greenhouse gas than an equivalent amount of mined material. Recycling will play a pivotal role in manufacturing and ownership, too.Making enough EVs to meet growing demand and selling them at prices consumers won’t balk at will require a supply of battery material that mining alone can’t sup...

DCF takes custody of four children found in apartment with ‘alcohol, drugs, sex toys,’ Healey says

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:16:30 GMT

Four children who were found in a disturbing South Boston apartment alongside a dead man over the weekend have been taken into state custody as officials investigate why they were in the presence of alcohol, drugs, and sex toys, Gov. Maura Healey said Wednesday.A Boston Fire Department incident report said first responders found the children, who are 5 to 10 years old, on Saturday morning in “extremely unsanitary conditions” and in a back bedroom where an adult male was in the process of hiding them.Healey said the Department of Children and Families, which works to keep children safe from abuse and neglect, had taken the four children into their care. She said the situation was “absolutely heartbreaking.”“We’ll do everything we can to provide them support and services. The matter is being investigated, obviously,” Healey told reporters at the State House. “I will do, and our administration will do, whatever we can to lend support with any investigation.”The fire departm...

SDG&E customers can earn bill credits with this incentive program

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:16:30 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- Summer savings on your SDG&E bill begins with signing up for an incentive program that rewards customers with bill credits. Those enrolled in the Power Saver Rewards Program can earn money towards their bill by conserving energy during heat waves.SDG&E says customers will be incentivized for reducing electricity use on days when the statewide grid is stressed by high demand.According to the utilities company, enrolled customers who conserved during the summer 2022 heat wave earned more than $11 million in bill credits.  Firefighters battle five blazes at once across San Diego County “Customers receive a double benefit when they participate in Power Saver Rewards and conserve energy: 1) they can save on their energy bill, and 2) they help to keep the grid reliable for all Californians on hot summer days when the grid is stressed,” said SDG&E Director of Customer Programs Hollie Bierman. “The grid is interconnected statewide, and we appreciate our custo...

Wave FC's Naomi Girma, Alex Morgan named to USWNT World Cup roster

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:16:30 GMT

SAN DIEGO — San Diego Wave FC stars Naomi Girma and Alex Morgan have been named to the U.S. Women's National Team roster for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup.Girma, the first overall pick in the 2022 National Women's Soccer League draft and the first player drafted in Wave history, will be making her World Cup debut. During her 2022 rookie season, the 23-year-old defender earned both NWSL Rookie of the Year and Defender of the Year honors.Morgan, a USWNT legend, will be playing in her fourth World Cup and has made a name for herself as one of the most prolific goal scorers in international history. The 33-year-old forward has racked up 121 goals and 49 assists for the U.S., helping the team win gold in the 2015 and 2019 Women's World Cups.In Dec. 2021, Morgan was announced as the first player to sign with the Wave ahead of their inaugural season in 2022. She has earned 22 goals and six assists with the club, winning the NWSL Golden Boot award in 2022, which is presented to the top s...

All hail the rising sun! Stonehenge welcomes 8,000 visitors for the summer solstice

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:16:30 GMT

STONEHENGE, England (AP) — All hail the rising sun.Around 8,000 revelers gathered around a prehistoric stone circle on a plain in southern England to express their devotion to the sun, or to have some communal fun.Druids, pagans, hippies, local residents and tourists, many clad in an array of colorful costumes and even antlers, stayed and celebrated at Stonehenge for the night and greeted sunrise on Wednesday, which is the longest day in the Northern Hemisphere.At dawn, the sun rose behind what is known as the Heel Stone in the northeast part of the horizon and the first rays shone into the heart of Stonehenge, one of the world’s most famous prehistoric monuments and a World Heritage Site. A sun-filled dawn followed a slightly misty sunrise, which was greeted with drumming, chanting and cheering.“Stonehenge continues to captivate and to bring people together to celebrate the seasons, just as it has done for thousands of years,” said Nichola Tasker, director of Stonehenge at English ...

Palestinian killed as Israeli settlers torch West Bank homes and cars to avenge deadly shooting

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:16:30 GMT

TURMUS AYYA, West Bank (AP) — Hundreds of Israeli settlers stormed into a Palestinian town in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday, setting fire to dozens of cars and homes to avenge the deaths of four Israelis killed by Palestinian gunmen the previous day, residents said. Palestinians said one man was killed in the violence.The settler attack came as the Israeli military deployed additional forces in the occupied West Bank, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced plans to build 1,000 new settler homes in response to the deadly shooting.The moves threatened to further raise tensions after days of deadly fighting in the West Bank that included a daylong Israeli military raid in a Palestinian militant stronghold and Tuesday’s mass shooting.Palestinian residents and human rights groups have long complained about Israel’s inability or refusal to halt settler violence. In Wednesday’s rampage, residents in Turmus Ayya said some 400 settlers marched down the town&#...

World well short of pace needed to meet UN’s 2030 sustainable development goals

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:16:30 GMT

The world is falling well short of the progress needed to meet the United Nations’ sustainable development goals by 2030 in areas ranging from poverty to clean energy to biodiversity, with a growing gap between wealthy and developing nations, according to a report Tuesday from the nonprofit tracking the goals.The coronavirus pandemic stalled the limited progress made in the years after United Nations member states adopted the goals in 2015. Now, halfway through the 15-year time frame, not a single one of the goals is on target to be met.“We’re at the risk of a lost decade for sustainable development,” said Guillaume Lafortune, a lead author of the report and vice president and head of the Paris office of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network, the nonprofit launched by the UN to foster and track sustainable development. “And there’s actually a risk that the gap between rich and poor countries on sustainable development might be bigger in 2030 than it was in 2015.”...

Woman injured in Manitoba bus crash dies in hospital, bringing death toll to 16

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:16:30 GMT

DAUPHIN, Man. — A woman injured in last week’s crash between a minibus and a transport truck in Manitoba has died in hospital, bringing the death toll to 16.RCMP said the woman, who had been in hospital since the crash, died Tuesday.Health officials said Wednesday that nine patients remained in hospital and four were in critical condition.The bus was taking a group of seniors from Dauphin and the surrounding area on a trip to a casino Thursday, when it crashed with the semi near Carberry.Police have said dashcam footage shows the bus was crossing the Trans-Canada Highway when it went into the path of the truck.They said officers have not yet interviewed the bus driver as he is receiving care in hospital.“Shared Health and Prairie Mountain Health would like to express our condolences to the family and friends of the patient involved in the collision who succumbed to her injuries yesterday,” the provincial health authority said in a statement Wednesday. Quality Care ...

New rule would make all railroads alert first responders within 10 miles of derailed train cargo

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:16:30 GMT

ATLANTA (AP) — Federal regulators want first responders to a train derailment to know exactly what they are dealing with even before they reach the scene, because the dangerous chemicals trains carry might require a specialized response.So the Pipelines and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration proposed a new rule Wednesday that would require all railroads to immediately send the details of everything aboard their trains to every emergency responder within 10 miles, as soon as the railroad becomes aware of an accident. The new rule comes one day ahead of a National Transportation Safety Board hearing to scrutinize emergency responses to the fiery Feb. 3 derailment of a Norfolk Southern train outside East Palestine, Ohio. The NTSB is still working to determine exactly what caused that wreck, which prompted the evacuation of thousands of people and ignited nationwide concern about railroad safety and calls for reforms. The largest freight railroads already have an app they develop...