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Thousands of homes, businesses impacted by historic flooding in Vermont, governor says

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 05:23:30 GMT

Historic flooding continued to hit Vermont Tuesday, turning roads into rivers, forcing people out of their homes and prompting a statewide state of emergency. As cleanup efforts get underway, Governor Phil Scott said thousands of homes and businesses have been impacted. “The devastation and flooding we’re experiencing across Vermont is historic and catastrophic,” he said.Vermont’s capitol of Montpelier was hammered by a record-setting 5.28 inches of rain on Monday, more than any other day on record. Streets were seen completely covered by water, with no signs of cars or people nearby. Rescuers were seen traveling by boat over flooded streets. In Montpelier, one man was also seen using a kayak to paddle around flooded streets.In Londonderry, south of Montpelier, a drone captured video of rising water moving through town, leaving homes looking like islands. A similar sight played out in Ludlow, where cars were left abandoned in roads. Restaurant owner Andrew Molen of Fo...

Portland officer issues video apology for hitting photographer during 2020 racial justice protest

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 05:23:30 GMT

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A police officer in Portland, Oregon, issued a video apology Tuesday for hitting a photographer in the head with a baton during the 2020 protests over the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Prosecutors dismissed a related fourth-degree misdemeanor assault charge against Portland Police Bureau Officer Corey Budworth last week, KGW-TV reported. In the video statement, Budworth said he met with independent photographer Teri Jacobs through a restorative justice process.The force he used against Jacobs on Aug. 18, 2020, could have been avoided, Budworth said.“I’m sorry, Ms. Jacobs, for unnecessarily hitting you in the head with my baton,” he says in the video, adding that he has also apologized to her privately.The officer also acknowledged the fractured relationship between police and some members of the community.“I understand the harm that was caused was not limited to Ms. Jacobs and was felt by others in the community when there was a great distrust o...

Cuba calls the presence of US nuclear-powered submarine at Guantanamo Bay naval base a provocation

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 05:23:30 GMT

HAVANA (AP) — Cuba’s government on Tuesday called the presence of a U.S. nuclear-powered submarine at the Guantanamo Bay naval base for several days last week a “provocative escalation,” while a U.S. official said it was a logistics stop by the vessel at a U.S. base on its way to maritime exercises.A statement from Cuba’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the submarine was at the U.S. naval base on the island from July 5 to July 8. It gave no more details.“This constitutes a provocative escalation by the United States, whose political or strategic motives are unknown,” the foreign ministry statement said.The U.S. State Department said it does not discuss the movements of U.S. military assets.A U.S. Defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity to provide details of a military operation, said the Navy submarine made a scheduled logistics stop at Guantanamo Bay. It then continued south to participate in UNITAS, the world’s longest-running multinational maritime exercise.“T...

North Korea launches ballistic missile toward sea day after making threat over alleged US spy flight

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 05:23:30 GMT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea launched a ballistic missile toward its eastern waters Wednesday, its neighbors said, two days after the North threatened “shocking” consequences to protest what it called a provocative U.S. reconnaissance activity near its territory.South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff says the launch was made on Wednesday morning but gave no further details such as how far the weapon flew.Japan’s Defense Ministry said it also detected a possible ballistic missile launch by North Korea.The launch, the North’s first weapons firing in about a month, came after North Korea earlier this week released a series of statements accusing the United States of flying a military plane close to North Korea to spy on the North.The United States and South Korea dismissed the North’s accusations and urged it to refrain from any acts or rhetoric that raises animosities.In a statement Monday night, Kim Yo Jong, the influential sister of North Korean sister Kim Jong Un,...

Insurance companies sue energy corporation after it was blamed for helping start Colorado wildfire

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 05:23:30 GMT

Dozens of insurance companies are suing Minneapolis-based Xcel Energy to recoup money paid out to homes and businesses lost in Colorado’s most destructive wildfire in 2021.The lawsuit was filed Thursday, a few weeks after investigators announced that a sparking power line owned by Xcel was one of the causes of a fire that, fanned by high winds, destroyed nearly 1,000 homes and left two people dead. Embers from a smoldering scrap wood fire set days before on a nearby property used by a Christian religious communal group was also found to have been another cause. The two fires combined to cause a blaze fanned by high winds that is blamed for causing $2 billion in damage in a suburban area between Denver and Boulder. In response to the allegations, Xcel re-issued a statement first given in response to the results the fire investigation, saying that it strongly objected to its findings.“We strongly disagree with any suggestion that Xcel Energy’s power lines caused the second ignit...

2 women struck by vehicle, injured in Eglinton West area

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 05:23:30 GMT

Two women are injured after the pair were struck by a vehicle in Toronto’s Eglinton West area on Tuesday night.Toronto police were called to the Eglinton Avenue West and Kane Avenue area around 8:30 p.m. for reports that the driver of a vehicle had hit a pedestrian.The victim, later confirmed to be a woman, suffered serious but non-life-threatening injuries. The driver remained at the scene and is cooperating with the investigation.Police said a second woman suffered non-life-threatening injuries.Eglinton Avenue West is currently closed between Keele Street and Caledonia Road.

Oak trusses raised to roof of fire-ravaged Notre Dame Cathedral as crowds watch along the Seine

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 05:23:30 GMT

PARIS (AP) — A crane hoisted massive oak trusses from a barge and onto Notre Dame Cathedral on Tuesday in a spectacular operation to rebuild the fire-ravaged monument and bring it back to life by December 2024.With trusses weighing 7 to 7.5 tons, the delicate operation drew crowds along a bridge over the Seine River and on its banks.“I think it’s a magical moment for a lot of Parisians this morning,” said Transport Minister Clement Beaune, noting that the Seine will be at the center of the Paris Olympics in 2024.Gen. Jean-Louis Georgelin, appointed by French President Emmanuel Macron to oversee Notre Dame’s reconstruction, said that even the heavy traffic expected during the summer Games won’t stop work on the world-renowned cathedral.“We will work for the cathedral during the Olympics in order to be ready in December 2024,” he said. “This is our goal.” Notre Dame, which overlooks the historic core of Paris from an island on the Seine, was consumed by flames in 2019. It was de...

Phoenix officials ask judge for more time in clearing downtown camp of homeless people

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 05:23:30 GMT

PHOENIX (AP) — Phoenix city officials said Tuesday they have been slowly and steadily clearing hundreds of people from a downtown encampment of homeless people called “The Zone,” and they asked a judge for more time to clear out the remaining hundreds still living there.About a year ago, as many as 1,000 people lived in the tent city that exploded in size during the COVID-19 pandemic. City officials say up to 300 people have since left the site under efforts launched in late 2022 to get them into shelters, or into temporary or permanent housing. Area shelters are typically full. Representing Phoenix, attorney Justin Pierce told Judge Scott Blaney that much progress has been made since March, when the court ordered Phoenix to lessen the public nuisance the encampment created. Deputy City Manager Gina Montes testified that Phoenix has now identified a property for a structured camping site with bathrooms and showers for those without housing, which it hopes to open by summer’s e...

Elizabeth Holmes on track for early release from 11-year prison sentence, officials say

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 05:23:30 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Disgraced Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes has apparently behaved well enough during the first six weeks of her more than 11-year prison sentence for duping investors in her blood-testing hoax to be eligible for release nearly two years ahead of schedule, federal officials confirmed Tuesday.The U.S. Bureau of Prisons currently projects that Holmes, 39, will be released from a Bryan, Texas, prison on December 29, 2032. That would be 115 months, or slightly more than 9 1/2 years, after she began her prison sentence of 11 years and three months imposed by U.S. District Judge Edward Davila last November.Holmes was convicted on four counts of fraud and conspiracy following a high-profile trial in San Jose, California, that riveted Silicon Valley for months. Manson follower Leslie Van Houten released from California prison Her prison sentence hasn't changed, but like all prisoners who follow the rules she can qualify for an early release under the f...

Lawmakers moving swiftly to pass property tax relief

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 05:23:30 GMT

AUSTIN (Nexstar) -- Lawmakers unanimously approved a package of three bills to provide record property tax relief through the House Ways and Means Committee Tuesday, clearing the way for much of the legislation to receive approval by the full House and reach the Governor's desk.Top leaders anticipate the legislature will have finally passed all of their bills by Thursday afternoon. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick told Nexstar he expects the measures will receive strong public approval and homeowners will see tax savings as soon as this year. "It's a long road. We went into the second overtime period. But the truth is no one really has ever done an $18 billion package in the history of the world that I know of for property taxes," Patrick said. "We got to where we needed to get and when the voters vote this November, the constitutional amendment will take effect this year. They will get the savings this year of $1,250 to $1,450."Those numbers are based on an avera...