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In rubble beneath I-95 collapse in Philadelphia, investigators looking for truck fire’s cause

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:08:33 GMT

By MIKE CATALINI and MARC LEVY (Associated Press)State and federal investigators were trying to find out Monday why a tanker fire collapsed a section of the East Coast’s main north-south highway, throwing hundreds of thousands of morning commutes into chaos and disrupting commerce for untold numbers of businesses.Interstate 95 will be closed in both directions for weeks at the start of summer travel season. Motorists should expect extensive delays and street closures, and avoid the northeast corner of the sixth-largest city in the country, transportation officials said. The accident also disrupted the car route from Canada to Florida through the Boston, New York and Washington metropolitan areas, increasing Americans’ dependence on air travel and the interstate rail network.Pennsylvania Transportation Secretary Michael Carroll said the I-95 segment carries roughly 160,000 vehicles per day and was likely the busiest interstate in Pennsylvania.Sunday morning’s fire s...

Trump traveling to Florida as history-making court appearance approaches in classified docs case

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:08:33 GMT

By ERIC TUCKER and JILL COLVIN (Associated Press)WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump was traveling to Florida on Monday ahead of a history-making federal court appearance this week on dozens of felony charges accusing him of illegally hoarding classified documents and thwarting the Justice Department’s efforts to get the records back.Trump’s Tuesday afternoon appearance in Miami will mark his second time since April facing a judge on criminal charges. But unlike a New York case some legal analysts derided as relatively trivial, the Justice Department’s first prosecution of a former president concerns conduct that prosecutors say jeopardized national security, with Espionage Act charges carrying the prospect of a significant prison sentence.Ahead of his court date, he and his allies have been escalating efforts to undermine the criminal case against him and drum up protests. He’s ratcheted up the rhetoric against the Justice Department special counsel who fil...

Column: Lake County officials have nothing to lose by making a pitch for the Bears

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:08:33 GMT

As long as real bears are roaming Lake County, we might as well make a pitch for the gridiron Bears. Seems like other locales are trying to lure them, so perhaps county economic development officials have a new stadium package prepared for the team.Folks may have missed the black bear sightings last week first lumbering near Gurnee Mills, then in the backyard of an Antioch-area home. State wildlife officials didn’t seem too upset about a rare bear encounter.The ursine sightings must be the first such in the county, although we have had bison and cougar visitors in the past. Black bears were once common in the county until our forefathers disposed of them in the late 1870s in favor of farms and pioneer housing.With the glimpse of the beasts at least Lake County can claim there’s some real bears here, compared to those suburbs who want to be the eventual home of the Monsters of the Midway.Having a new Chicago Bears stadium in Lake County would piggyback on the team’s...

Brockton man accused of shooting Boston police officer held without bail

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:08:33 GMT

Brockton man John Lazare, 23, was held without bail on charges that he shot and injured a Boston police officer who had seen the alleged robbery of a pizza delivery guy on Cedric Street in the city.Lazare faced nine charges including assault with a dangerous weapon, armed robbery, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and more at his arraignment Monday morning.“It’s a blessing that (the officer) made it out of there alive,” said Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association President Larry Calderone at the courthouse.“It’s a true miracle. It’s an officer doing his job, trying to protect the general public, trying to protect people that are delivering food to the general public, and he gets attacked as soon as he walks in the door. This is what officers face every night that they go to work,” Calderone continued.Lazare was held pending a dangerous ness hearing scheduled for June 23.The officer was shot multiple times Friday, being struck in the foot and re...

Biden will host outgoing NATO secretary-general Stoltenberg as competition to replace him heats up

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:08:33 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden will welcome outgoing NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg to the White House for talks on Tuesday as the competition to find his successor to lead the military alliance heats up.Stoltenberg, who has led the NATO since 2014 and has had his tenure extended three times, said earlier this year he would move on when his current term expires at the end of September. The jockeying to replace him is intensifying as leaders of the 31-member military alliance are set to meet next month for their annual summit in Vilnius, Lithuania. Stoltenberg is in the midst of a tour of NATO capitals to meet with leaders ahead of the summit. The meeting with Biden originally was scheduled for Monday, but the White House announced it was being rescheduled for Tuesday because the president underwent an unexpected root canal procedure after experiencing dental pain.Last week, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak made the case for U.K. Defense Minister Ben Wallace directl...

Scott rolls out dozens of South Carolina lawmakers and local leaders endorsing his presidential bid

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:08:33 GMT

SPARTANBURG, S.C. (AP) — Sen. Tim Scott is rolling out endorsements from more than 140 current and former elected officials from his home state of South Carolina, aiming to make a show of force in the first-in-the-South presidential primary state.The backing comes as Scott and other presidential contenders aim to carry on with their campaigns as much of the political world parses the indictment of GOP front-runner Donald Trump on dozens of federal charges.The list of supporters, shared with The Associated Press ahead of an official announcement on Monday, includes state Sen. Shane Massey, the current Republican leader of South Carolina’s Senate, who called Scott “the authentic conservative leader we need in the White House right now.”Daniel Rickenmann, elected in 2021 as the first Republican-aligned mayor of South Carolina’s capital city of Columbia in decades, lauded Scott’s career, which he said had been spent “focusing on people back home and supporting local go...

Silvio Berlusconi, scandal-scarred former Italian leader, dies at 86

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:08:33 GMT

MILAN (AP) — Silvio Berlusconi, the boastful billionaire media mogul who was Italy’s longest-serving premier despite scandals over his sex-fueled parties and allegations of corruption, died Monday. He was 86.Supporters applauded as his body arrived at his villa outside Milan from the city’s San Raffaele Hospital, where he had been treated for chronic leukemia. A state funeral will be held Wednesday in the city’s Duomo cathedral, according to the Milan Archdiocese.A onetime cruise ship crooner, Berlusconi used his television networks and immense wealth to launch his long political career, inspiring both loyalty and loathing.To admirers, the three-time premier was a capable and charismatic statesman who sought to elevate Italy on the world stage. To critics, he was a populist who threatened to undermine democracy by wielding political power as a tool to enrich himself and his businesses. His Forza Italia party is a coalition partner with current Premier Giorgia Melon...

South Africa’s ruling party expels former top official accused of corruption

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:08:33 GMT

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — South Africa’s ruling African National Congress party expelled its former secretary-general on Monday for misconduct and other breaches of party rules while he also faces charges of corruption in a criminal case.The once-influential Ace Magashule is on trial over the alleged misappropriation of money from a government contract worth more than $13 million when he was the premier of the Free State province before his rise to the top administrative position in the ANC.Magashule was suspended as secretary-general in 2021 after he was charged with multiple counts of corruption, money laundering and fraud. He was suspended in line with the ANC’s “step-aside” policy, which requires those in leadership positions to step down from their roles while facing criminal charges.Magashule refused to step down and even issued a letter stating he was suspending South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, the leader of the ANC, from his duties. His defiance and refusal to apologize fo...

Biden is getting a root canal so misses public events at White House and reschedules NATO meeting

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:08:33 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden underwent a root canal after experiencing some dental pain – a procedure that took him out of commission for his public events on Monday. Biden’s personal physician, Kevin O’Connor, said in a memo released by the White House that Biden reported the pain in his lower right premolar on Sunday. The president had an initial root canal that day, and he “tolerated the procedure well” with no complications, O’Connor said. On Monday morning, Biden had “further discomfort” in his mouth, which O’Connor said was expected. An endodontal specialty team from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center was completing Biden’s root canal at the White House. The White House said Biden was not placed under anesthesia for the procedure.He had been scheduled to appear at College Athlete Day on the South Lawn at the White House, which hosts NCAA champions from various men’s and women’s sports from the 2022-2023 season. Vice ...

Rio Tinto to expand aluminum smelter with $1.4B investment using greener technology

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:08:33 GMT

SAGUENAY, Que. — Rio Tinto says it will make a $1.4-billion investment to expand an aluminum smelter equipped with low-carbon technology in Saguenay, Que.The Anglo-Australian metals and mining giant says it plans to build 96 new pots that use the greener AP60 technology on an existing site adjacent to the 97-year-old Arivda aluminum smelter.The announcement today eases anxiety over jobs ahead of that plant’s closure in 2025, and gives more weight to Rio Tinto’s claim to being a producer of green aluminum, with the newer facilities emitting far fewer greenhouse gas emissions.The investment at the Jonquière Complex roughly 200 kilometres north of Quebec City would eventually churn out 220,000 tonness of primary aluminum per year, over 360 per cent more than its current output.The company says the amount could furnish enough for 400,000 electric cars, though the total falls short of the 400,000-tonne smelter that was pledged in 2006 by former owner Alcan Inc. — acquired the...