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Surfside prepares to commemorate 2-year anniversary of Champlain Towers South collapse

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:55:04 GMT

On Saturday, the residents of Surfside will solemnly observe a heartbreaking milestone as they commemorate the two-year anniversary of the Champlain Towers South building collapse, an agonizing event that claimed the lives of 98 individuals. In the wake of the devastating collapse, rescue crews from across the nation, and even as far away as Israel, rallied together to aid in the extensive rescue effort. Their tireless commitment to saving lives amidst the rubble was a testament to the resilience and compassion of humanity.Recently released findings from federal investigators, following a comprehensive analysis, revealed that the swimming deck, which tragically gave way, failed to meet the original safety standards. This disheartening revelation came almost a year after a judge approved a monumental $1 billion settlement for the victims and survivors, seeking to provide some measure of justice and support.As the nation prepares to remember the lives lost and the survivors forever im...

After 5 killed on Titanic-bound submersible, authorities are trying to figure out how it imploded

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:55:04 GMT

The search for a missing Titanic-bound submersible has become an investigation and salvage mission that will take an indefinite amount of time, officials said, as tributes from around the world poured in for the five people killed when the vessel imploded deep in the North Atlantic.The announcement Thursday that all aboard perished when the submersible imploded near the site of the iconic shipwreck brought a tragic end to a five-day saga that included an urgent around-the-clock search and a worldwide vigil for the vessel known as the Titan.The investigation into what happened was already underway and would continue in the area around Titanic where debris from the submersible was found, said Rear Adm. John Mauger, of the First Coast Guard District.“I know there are also a lot of questions about how, why and when did this happen. Those are questions we will collect as much information as we can about now,” Mauger said, adding that it was a “complex case” that happened in a remote part...

Honda recalls nearly 1.2M vehicles because rear camera image may not appear on dashboard screen

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:55:04 GMT

DETROIT (AP) — Honda is recalling nearly 1.2 million vehicles in the U.S. because the rear view camera image may not appear on the dashboard screen.The recall covers certain Odyssey minivans from 2018 to 2023, as well as Pilot SUVs from 2019 to 2022 and Passport SUVs from 2019 to 2023.Honda says in documents posted Friday by U.S. safety regulators that the problem was traced to a faulty coaxial cable connector. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says if the rear view camera image doesn’t display, it can cut driver visibility and increase the risk of a crash.The company says it received nearly 274,000 warranty claims from May of 2017 through June 8. It has no reports of any injuries.Dealers will replace a cable harness and install a straightening cover at no cost to owners, who will be notified by letter starting July 24.

Muggy, warm and at times wet weekend

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:55:04 GMT

7Weather – Ready or not for the muggy air, here it comes! That’ll be our biggest change into the weekend. We’ll have showers and storms around, but not the entire time.A warm front will lift through today. That’ll help to boost our temperatures and our dew points. The pattern won’t change much this weekend with an upper level low to our west, so we’ll keep the humidity high with chances for showers and storms.Talk about a gloomy look outside this morning with low clouds! We’ll see a lot of clouds with some breaks of sun by this afternoon. There’s just an isolated shower chance this evening. The best chance for rain will be overnight into tomorrow morning. There’s a lot of moisture in the vertical column of the atmosphere so downpours are possible with this wave. The rain will wind down by early afternoon. The daytime warming will allow a chance for thunderstorms mainly north and west in the afternoon.Sunday will be the opposite....

3rd Vermont city allows noncitizen voting in local elections after Legislature overrides veto

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:55:04 GMT

BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) — A third Vermont city will now allow noncitizens who are legal residents to vote in local elections after the Democrat-controlled Legislature on Tuesday overrode the Republican governor’s veto of the Burlington charter change bill.Burlington, Vermont’s largest city, now joins Montpelier and Winooski, which already permit such voting. City residents voted in favor of the charter change in March. The three Vermont cities are among more than a dozen communities in a handful of states — including New York City, and a number of towns in Maryland — that allow noncitizens to vote in local elections. Eight states have laws that only allow U.S. citizens to vote in elections, according to the group Americans for Citizen Voting.The Republican National Committee filed lawsuits against Montpelier and Winooski asking judges to declare noncitizen voting unconstitutional and lost those challenges. Federal law prohibits noncitizens from voti...

For Chicago Cubs fans who made the overseas trek for the London Series, the trip is exciting, bittersweet

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:55:04 GMT

For longtime Chicago Cubs fan Marci Watts, the London Series represented the perfect 55th wedding anniversary gift for her parents, who are diehard St. Louis Cardinals fans.The teams’ rivalry and a trip to London created the perfect union for the family’s split allegiance. Watts grew up in the Peoria area, which is well known for its divided fan support between the Cubs and Cardinals. Her best friend was a Cubs fan and despite her parents, Wayne and Sharen Cinotto, supporting the Cardinals, Watts gravitated toward the lovable losers and fell in love with Wrigley Field when making trips to the city with her friend’s family during the 1970s.“It’s become a family tradition to argue about them,” Watts told the Tribune on Thursday from the team’s fan rally at Horse and Guardsman pub. “I didn’t even realize until I was older, in my teens, that I was doing something that was interesting, shall we say.”However, those travel plans i...

About 350 Pakistanis were on migrant boat that sank off Greece and many may have died, official says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:55:04 GMT

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan’s interior minister said Friday that an estimated 350 Pakistanis were on board an overcrowded fishing boat carrying migrants that sank off Greece last week, and that many remain missing and may have died in one of the deadliest incidents in the central Mediterranean Sea.Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah Khan told lawmakers in the National Assembly that an estimated 700 migrants were on the boat when it sank June 14. Only 104 people, including 12 Pakistanis, were rescued and 82 bodies have been recovered. Khan said many of the missing Pakistanis are feared dead. “So far, 281 families have contacted the government saying their sons or dear ones might have been among those who were on the boat,” he said. Khan’s comments shocked the lawmakers, who appeared distressed as he spoke. It was the first time that a senior official has reported that so many Pakistani citizens are missing since the boat sinking. Officials are currently collecting DNA samples from p...

UN aid enters opposition-held Syria from government territory for first time since deadly earthquake

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:55:04 GMT

IDLIB, Syria (AP) — A convoy carrying United Nations aid entered opposition-held Idlib from government-held Syria Friday, the first such shipment to cross battle lines since a deadly 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit Turkey and Syria in February.The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, or OCHA, announced that an aid convoy carrying humanitarian supplies crossed from Aleppo to northwest Syria. The last U.N. aid shipment to cross battle lines into the northwest was on Jan. 8.In the wake of the earthquake that struck Turkey and northern Syria on Feb. 6, causing widespread destruction, “cross-line” aid convoys had been prevented from entering Idlib from government-held areas by the formerly al-Qaida-affiliated rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, which dominates the area. An administrative arm of the group accused the government of Bashar Assad in a statement at the time of trying “to benefit from the aid intended for victims of the earthquake.”In the wake of the ea...

UK elections watchdog says new voter ID law stopped thousands from casting ballots

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:55:04 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Britain’s electoral watchdog said Friday that about 14,000 people were prevented from voting in last month’s local elections because of a new law requiring voters to show photo identification.The Electoral Commission said 0.25% of people who went to polling stations were unable to cast ballots because they didn’t have the right ID, and “significantly more” than that likely did not show up at all.Craig Westwood, the commission’s communications director, said there was “concerning” evidence that disabled and unemployed people were more likely than other groups to give a reason related to ID for not voting.“We don’t want to see a single voter lose the opportunity to have their say,” he said. “We are working to understand the challenges people faced, and will make recommendations that, with the engagement of government and wider electoral community, will support the participation of all voters.”The government says ID is required to vote in many democracies, and the move wi...

The Olympic flame for the 2024 Paris Games will be carried for 68 days before the cauldron is lit

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:55:04 GMT

PARIS (AP) — The Olympic flame for the 2024 Paris Games will pass through 64 departments — including five overseas — and 400 towns over 68 days before the cauldron is lit.Organizers announced the route for the torch relay on Friday at a Paris university.“Paris 2024 is the greatest collective project in our history,” organizing committee president Tony Estanguet said. “The torch relay plays an important role because it has the capacity to touch so many people.”The torch will be lit by the sun’s rays on April 16 in Ancient Olympia, Greece. It will then be carried around the nation before its handover in Athens.The flame will leave Athens on April 27 aboard a three-mast ship named Belem for the French port of Marseille — a former Greek colony founded 2,600 years ago.The Belem was first used in 1896, the same year the modern Olympics came back. It will be skippered by French navigator Armel Le Cléac’h, winner of the solo around-the-world race Vendée Globe in 2017. The crew will re...