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Russia claims eastern city of Bakhmut, but Ukrainian military leaders say battle isn’t over

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:45 GMT

By SAMYA KULLAB (Associated Press)KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Although Russia claims it has won control of Ukraine’s eastern city of Bakhmut after a grinding nine-month conflict in which tens of thousands of fighters have died, top Ukrainian military leaders say the battle is not over.Ukrainian officials acknowledge they control only a small part of Bakhmut. Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said Monday that Ukrainian troops hold some areas in its southwestern outskirts, while fighting continues for the strategic heights in the northern and southern parts of the suburbs.“The offensive potential of the enemy has been significantly reduced. Huge losses have been inflicted on the enemy. We have gained time for certain actions, which will be revealed later,” Maliar said.Ukraine says their fighters played a key role in their strategy of exhausting Russian forces. And they say their current positions surrounding Bakhmut will let them strike back inside the 400-year-ol...

More women sue Texas, asking court to put emergency block on state’s abortion law

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:45 GMT

By AMANDA SEITZ (Associated Press)WASHINGTON (AP) — One woman had to carry her baby, missing much of her skull, for months knowing she’d bury her daughter soon after she was born. Another started mirroring the life-threatening symptoms that her baby was displaying while in the womb. An OB-GYN found herself secretly traveling to Colorado to abort her wanted pregnancy, marred by the diagnosis of a fatal fetal anomaly. All of the women were told they could not end their pregnancies in Texas, a state that has enacted some of the nation’s most restrictive abortion laws. Now, they’re asking a Texas court to put an emergency hold on some abortion restrictions, joining a lawsuit launched earlier this year by five other women who were denied abortions in the state, despite pregnancies they say endangered their health or lives.More than a dozen Texas women in total have joined the Center for Reproductive Rights’ lawsuit against the state’s law, which prohib...

Couple with Boston ties killed at Texas mall shooting with their 3-year-old son had ‘perfect synergy’

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:45 GMT

DALLAS (AP) — Kyu Cho had a generous spirit and joyous belly laugh that delighted his friends. His wife, Cindy Cho, was quieter, described by those who knew her as sweet and kind. Together, the parents of two young sons complemented each other perfectly, strong in their faith and devoted to family and friends.“That’s what I keep hearing in my head when I think of them: Just Kyu laughing so deeply and Cindy just kind of shaking her head and laughing along,” said their friend, Phyllis Myung. “Every interaction I ever had with them, we were always laughing so hard.”Cindy and Kyu grew up in Texas. They met while pursuing their careers as young adults in Boston — her as a dentist, him as an attorney. Wanting to be near their families, they decided it was time to return to Texas when they started a family of their own.The couple and their sons — 6-year-old William and 3-year-old James — were not far from their Dallas home when a gunman opened fire at an outdoor mall as they shopped earlie...

Fire razes school dormitory in Guyana, killing at least 20 children, many of them Indigenous

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:45 GMT

GEORGETOWN, Guyana (AP) — Fire raced through a school dormitory in Guyana early Monday, killing at least 20 students and injuring an undetermined more, authorities said.The Guyanese government said in a press statement that the fire broke out in the dormitory building of a secondary school in the southwestern border town of Mahdia, 200 miles (320 kilometers) south of the capital, Georgetown.“This is a horrific incident. It’s tragic. It’s painful,” said President Irfaan Ali, adding that his government was mobilizing all resources to care for the children.The government said several other students were being treated for injuries and at least six were flown to the capital for treatment.Ali said officials were contacting parents and mobilizing psychologists to help deal with those affected by the fire.“I cannot imagine the pain right now of the parents,” he said. “This is a major disaster.”The fire began shortly after midnight at the school that serves mostly Indigenous chil...

Stock market today: Wall Street drifts higher amid debt ceiling talks

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:45 GMT

TOKYO — Wall Street is trading small gains and losses early Monday as a deadline nears to reach a deal to avoid a federal default.Dow and S&P futures rose less than than 0.1% before the bell. There’s a pivotal meeting set for later in the day at the White House between President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on the debt ceiling. A default on the U.S. debt would almost surely cause a recession in the American economy, which would have damaging effects on economies worldwide. “It seems pretty likely that a full-fledged deal will be reached before early June, but the timing is hard to predict,” Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management, said of the U.S. efforts to avoid a potentially disastrous default on its debt.“While negotiation strategy and political incentives imply a last-minute deal, we will soon find out if it’s baked beans or lobster during the Memorial Day holiday.” The White House and House Republicans wrapped up another round of talks o...

Greece faces new ballot in weeks, after election triumph fails to deliver center-right majority

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:45 GMT

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece faces new national elections as early as June 25, with Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis confirming Monday he would not try to build a coalition government — despite having dominated the ballot hours earlier by the most decisive margin in half a century.It was a tantalizing result for the center-right leader: although Mitsotakis slightly expanded his New Democracy party’s standing, got double the votes of leftwing Syriza and nearly four times those of third-place Socialist Pasok, the one-off electoral law in place Sunday denied him a governing majority.He’ll now pin his hopes on a second vote — expected no later than July 2 — where the electoral system will revert to boosting the first party with a bonus of up to 50 of Parliament’s 300 seats. That system would have secured ND more than 170 seats Sunday.With 99.70% of the votes counted, New Democracy has 40.79% and 146 seats, five short of a majority, winning in 58 of the country’...

In the Amazon, Brazilian ecologists try new approach against deforestation and poverty

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:45 GMT

CARAUARI, Brazil (AP) — In a remote corner of the Amazon, Brazilian ecologists are trying to succeed where a lack of governance has proved disastrous. They’re managing a stretch of land in a way that welcomes both local people and scientists to engage in preserving the world’s largest tropical forest. The goal is ambitious, counter the forces that have destroyed 10% of the forest in less than four decades and create something that can be replicated in other parts of the Amazon. It began with a four-month expedition along the Juruá River in 2016. Researchers visited some 100 communities that at first sight looked similar: rows of wooden homes on stilts along the water. But they were struck by contrasts in the living conditions.To understand what they saw, it’s important to know that 29% of the Amazon, an area roughly three times the size of California, is either public land with no special protection, or public land for which no public information exists, according to a s...

Fire kills 6, injures 7 in a house in Abu Dhabi, officials say, cause unknown

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:45 GMT

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A house fire in Abu Dhabi killed six people and injured seven on Monday, according to the civil defense authority in the United Arab Emirates.An Investigation is underway to find out the cause of the fire which erupted in the city’s Al Moazaz area. The UAE has been grappling with a series of recent fires, exacerbated by flammable cladding materials and escalating temperatures, which can soar up to 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit) during the summer.Another apartment fire last month killed 16 and injured 9 in Dubai’s historic Deira neighborhood.On Saturday, Abu Dhabi experienced a dust storm and temperatures of 43 degrees Celsius (109 degrees Fahrenheit). One worker was injured as five wooden boats anchored on Sharjah Creek went ablaze that day.The Associated Press

Venmo to be officially available for teenagers, although many use it already

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:45 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Teenagers will officially be allowed to open a Venmo account with their parent’s permission, the company said Monday, expanding the popular social payments app to a age demographic that is likely to embrace it almost immediately.Using Venmo won’t necessarily be new to a good number of teens — parents often set up accounts for their children through their own accounts, which is a violation of Venmo’s terms of service. There have been guides on the Internet for some time showing parents how to create a child’s account without Venmo penalizing them. Venmo has been a popular way to send money to individuals for years, and now has more than 90 million users. The product for teens comes at a time when other social apps are being watched closely by politicians and regulators. The state of Montana banned TikTok last week and other states are considering a ban as well. The Venmo Teen Account will be available for 13- to 17-year-olds and comes with a de...

The past, present, and future of Canadian farming

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:45 GMT

In today’s Big Story Podcast, Canada’s farming industry is undergoing a transition.An older generation of farmers are ready to retire, but finding successors for the family business poses a challenge. With corporate megafarms are acquiring farmland wherever possible, a younger generation of farmers strives to secure their own growing space.Keith Currie, an eighth-generation farmer and president of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture, says many farming jobs are going unfulfilled.“The one thing about agriculture is that it’s both an exciting industry to be in, but it’s also one that has a lot of uncertainty,” says Currie.Aliyah Fraser, owner and operator of Lucky Bug Farm, a small-scale farm, says the cost of securing farmland for a younger generation is too high. “This is something that governments ideally would address, through policy change…It’s really important in Ontario, but also across the country,” says Fraser.Both Currie and Fraser join Today’s Big Story to ref...