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At least 7 civilians killed and 20 others wounded after a minibus exploded in the Afghan capital

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:09:27 GMT

ISLAMABAD (AP) — A minibus exploded in a mostly Shiite Muslim neighborhood in Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, killing at least seven civilians and wounding 20 others, authorities said Tuesday.Police spokesman, Khalid Zadran, said the blast took place in the west part of the city in Dashti Barchi area.The cause of the explosion remained unknown, but police has launched an investigation, Zadran said.No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but affiliates of the Islamic State group have targeted in the past Shiite schools, hospitals and mosques in the same area.IS and other militant groups have been waging a campaign of violence since the Taliban took power in August 2021.The Associated Press

Migration experts say Italy’s deal to have Albania house asylum-seekers violates international law

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:09:27 GMT

MILAN (AP) — Migration experts and activists on Tuesday panned an agreement between Italy and Albania that would direct thousands of migrants to the Balkan nation while their asylum applications are under review, arguing the deal would potentially violate international law. The exact workings of the arrangement announced Monday as Albania’s leader visited Rome were still unknown, but it recalls a similar move by Denmark to locate asylum-seekers in Africa that was later put on hold. The European Commission, which supervises the application of European Union laws, suggested the deal could prove problematic if Italy sends migrants found in the EU’s territorial waters to a non-EU nation. It left a door open for the agreement if it is applied to migrants who were picked up in international waters.“If you have a vessel within the territory, then you have the asylum procedure recommendation, which applies,’’ European Commission spokesperson Anitta Hipper told reporters in Brussels. T...

Kidal mayor says 14 people dead in northern Mali after series of drone strikes near rebel stronghold

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:09:27 GMT

BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — A series of drone strikes around the town of Kidal in northern Mali have killed at least 14 people in the rebel stronghold, the town’s mayor said Tuesday.Kidal Mayor Arbakane Ag Abzayack told The Associated Press that the town’s deputy mayor and a local councillor were among the victims.Residents say victims of the first drone strike Tuesday included children who had gathered in front of the former U.N. peacekeeping camp that was vacated a week ago. A second strike hit near an auction site. The Malian army has not commented on the attacks, but a few days ago it announced that it had used drones to target terrorist positions in the former U.N. base in Kidal.Violence is again spiking between ethnic Tuareg rebels and Mali’s military, prompting the U.N. to move up its departure once planned for mid-November.Analysts say the violence signals the breakdown of a 2015 peace agreement signed between the government and the rebels. That deal was signed after Tua...

Voters are heading to polling places in the Maine city where 18 were killed

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:09:27 GMT

LEWISTON, Maine (AP) — Less than two weeks after 18 people were killed by a gunman in their small New England city, residents headed gingerly to polling places Tuesday.The mood was somber as several shooting survivors remained hospitalized and funerals were being held this week for those who died in the attack.Citing civic duty and a quest to return the community to normal life, Lewiston residents turned out to vote in several high-profile referendums and local races.“This is a necessity. We have to do this. So we can’t neglect it even though we’ve been through a terrible tragedy,” said James Scribner, 79, a retired teacher and Marine veteran, who was joined by his wife at local school that was transformed into a polling place.The shootings on Oct. 25 at a bar and a bowling alley in Lewiston forced tens of thousands of residents to shelter in place for several days. Grocery stores, gas stations and restaurants were closed. The gunman was later found dead from a self-inflicted gunsho...

Massive World War II-era blimp hangar burns in Southern California

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:09:27 GMT

TUSTIN, Calif. (AP) — Fire raged Tuesday in a massive World War II-era wooden hangar that was built to house military blimps based in Southern California.The Orange County Fire Authority said in a social media post that allowing the structure to collapse was the only way to fight the fire.“Due to the dynamic nature of the fire, and the imminent danger of collapse, we have determined the most operationally sound method is to allow the structure to collapse, at which point ground crews can move in closer, and aggressively work to extinguish the fire,” the agency said.The historic hangar was one of two built in 1942 for the U.S. Navy in the city of Tustin, about 35 miles (56 kilometers) southeast of Los Angeles. According to the city, the hangars are 17 stories high, more than 1,000 feet (305 meters) long and 300 feet (91.4 meters) wide. The burning structure was known as the north hangar. The Navy installation became a Marine Corps air station in the 1950s and closed in 1999. Hollywoo...

Former Meta engineer testifies before Congress on Instagram’s harms to teens

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:09:27 GMT

On the same day whistleblower Frances Haugen was testifying before Congress about the harms of Facebook and Instagram to children in the fall of 2021, Arturo Béjar, then a contractor at the social media giant, sent an alarming email to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg about the same topic. In the note, as first reported by The Wall Street Journal, Béjar, who worked as an engineering director at Facebook from 2009 to 2015, outlined a “critical gap” between how the company approached harm and how the people who use its products — most notably young people — experience it. “Two weeks ago my daughter, 16, and an experimenting creator on Instagram, made a post about cars, and someone commented ‘Get back to the kitchen.’ It was deeply upsetting to her,” he wrote. “At the same time the comment is far from being policy violating, and our tools of blocking or deleting mean that this person will go to other profiles and continue to spread misogyny. I don’t think policy/reporting or having more conten...

Northwest Indiana father accused of shooting his children's mother, her boyfriend during custody exchange

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:09:27 GMT

GRIFFITH, Ind. — A Northwest Indiana man has been charged with attempted murder after allegedly shooting the mother of his children and her boyfriend during a custody exchange.On Friday night at around 6:35 p.m., Griffith officers responded to the 1500 block of North Arbogast, on the report of shots fired.A responding officer noticed a vehicle had an apparent bullet hole in the side of it at a nearby Wendy's and saw five people inside, a man, a woman and three small children.The man was shot in the leg and the woman was shot in the right arm.The woman told police she was at an apartment complex to drop off two of her children to their father, Calvin Gordon, during a custody exchange.At some point, Gordon allegedly walked over to her white Volkswagen sedan and fired a single shot — striking her and her boyfriend.The mother told police that once she realized she was shot, they exited the apartment complex by driving over a curb and went to a nearby Wendy's. Group accused of stealing...

Trump holds 39-point lead over DeSantis in Florida poll

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:09:27 GMT

(The Hill) -- Former President Donald Trump expanded his lead over Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in the Sunshine State, according to a new poll from the University of North Florida (UNF) published Tuesday.About 60 percent of respondents sided with Trump in the poll compared to just 21 percent for DeSantis and 6 percent for former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley in a distant third.In a head-to-head poll, Trump still leads DeSantis 59-29.The poll represents the former president's monumental lead in the GOP primary even though DeSantis remains popular in his home state.“Despite historically high approval in the polls, Governor DeSantis losing steam in his home state doesn’t bode well for his national campaign,” UNF professor Michael Binder said in a statement. “Even if you wipe out the rest of the competition in a head-to-head, Trump leads DeSantis by 20 points.” Trump attorney says New York attorney general is ‘just not that bright’ DeSantis has struggled in Florida, losing key endorsemen...

National parks are free to visit for one day this week

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:09:27 GMT

(NEXSTAR) — For one day only this week, national parks that usually charge an entrance fee will be free to visit. November 11, Veterans Day, marks the last of the five days the National Park Service is waiving admission fees for this year.We already saw free admission on January 16, which is Martin Luther King Day; April 22, the first day of National Park Week; August 4, to mark the anniversary of the Great American Outdoors Act; and September 23, for National Public Lands Day. Why do some national parks charge an entrance fee? All of the 109 sites that charge an entrance fee, will be free to visit on Saturday. Fees are still required for overnight camping, cabin rentals, transportation, group day use, and use of special areas. Last year, there were roughly 312 million recreational visits to 395 national parks that track attendance, a 15 million increase over 2021. The most visited park was Blue Ridge Parkway, which received 15.7 million visits last year,...

Historic hangar at former air base in California engulfed in flames 

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:09:27 GMT

(KTLA) -- A hangar at a historic air base in Orange County, California, went up in flames early Tuesday morning. According to the Orange County Fire Authority, the fire broke out around 1 a.m. at the Marine Corps Air Station in Tustin. As the hangar burned, fire officials were concerned that the structure would completely collapse."It's definitely not a normal fire, but today because of the complex fire operation, our incident commanders decided that they are going to use helicopters along with the truck companies," said OCFA Captain Thanh Nguyen, noting that helicopters are usually deployed for large brush fires. "Our firefighters are situated outside [the hangar] and they are placing their units in the most advantageous spots to get water into the structure. Then, should the building collapse, they are not in the line of fire." Captain of dive boat that sunk after fire convicted in deaths of 34 passengers Several of the base’s hangars were on fire by the time first r...