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On Illinois highway, blinding dust, then ‘crash after crash’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:12:31 GMT

By JOHN O’CONNOR (Associated Press)DIVERNON, Ill. (AP) — Winds stirred up a wall of dust from farm fields that engulfed a stretch of busy interstate highway in a matter of minutes. The brown cloud’s intensity caked even the insides of vehicles in dirt. As darkness enveloped them, some cars and trucks hurtling down the road put on their brakes; others didn’t.They slammed into one another, leaving them mangled or in some cases, burned. And when it was over, almost 40 people were injured and six people were dead — two of them still unidentifiable. Monday’s deadly and fiery crashes along a 2-mile stretch of Interstate 55 in central Illinois, 75 miles (120 kilometers) north of St. Louis and just south of the state capital of Springfield, came as high spring winds kicked up dust at a time when farmers are busy tilling or planting their fields, police said.“They were very unusual circumstances. Certainly dust storms happen, but it is not something ...

Boston Pizza teases unofficial name change to honour Leafs, mock Bruins

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:12:31 GMT

Boston Pizza isn’t messing around when it comes to an Original Six rivalry.After Auston Matthews and the Toronto Maple Leafs overcame years of playoff failure to advance to the second round, Boston Pizza decided to honour the franchise and, in turn, mock Toronto’s rival.On Monday, a billboard popped up on Toronto’s Gardiner Expressway declaring that “Boston’s Out [and] Auston’s In,” accompanied by an unofficial franchise name change from “Boston Pizza” to “Auston Pizza.” This comes after the Boston Bruins, who set an NHL record with 135 points during the regular season, were upset and eliminated by the Florida Panthers in the first round. Boston Pizza, a Canadian multi-national restaurant chain, has no affiliation with the city of Boston despite past lawsuits with Boston Market over the trademark. On Monday, a billboard popped up on Toronto’s Gardiner Expressway declaring that “Boston’s Out [and] Aus...

The balloon that flew over Hawaii? US says it’s not China’s

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:12:31 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Defense Department and the Federal Aviation Administration have been tracking a balloon that was flying off the coast of Hawaii last week, but a defense official said Tuesday there’s no indication it is connected to China or any other adversary, and it presents no threats to aviation or national security.The balloon was first detected by radar on Friday and “Pacific Air Forces launched three F-22s to assess the situation and visually identified a spherical object,” U.S. Indo-Pacific Command said. “We monitored the transit of the object and assessed that it posed no threat.”The defense official said the balloon was floating at about 36,000 feet (11,000 meters), and it did not fly over any critical defense infrastructure or sensitive sites. After determining that the balloon presented no threat to people on the ground or to aviation over Hawaii, the military took no action to bring it down, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss m...

Workers: ‘Rotten egg’ smell before chocolate factory blast

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:12:31 GMT

Workers at a Pennsylvania chocolate factory smelled “rotten eggs” before a powerful natural gas explosion that leveled one building, heavily damaged another and killed seven people, federal safety officials said Monday in a preliminary report.The National Transportation Safety Board’s five-paragraph account of the fatal explosion confirmed earlier reporting by The Associated Press and other media outlets that employees had detected an odor of natural gas at the R.M. Palmer Co. factory in West Reading, a small town 60 miles (96 kilometers) northwest of Philadelphia.About 70 Palmer production workers and 35 office staff were working in two adjacent buildings at the time of the March 24 blast, according to the agency’s report, and employees in both buildings told federal investigators they’d smelled gas.“Employees from Building 2 recalled that they were sanitizing equipment in the building when they detected an odor of natural gas. The employees in Building 1 re...

Mechanic charged with homicide in fatal NYC elevator plunge

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:12:31 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — An elevator mechanic’s failure to execute basic safety procedures caused an elevator at a New York City building to plunge six stories and crush a co-worker to death, prosecutors said Tuesday.Mechanic Peter Milatz, 67, was charged with criminally negligent homicide for the Feb. 18, 2021 death of apprentice mechanic Joseph Rosa, 25, at a Bronx building where the men were working to modernize the elevator.According to prosecutors, Milatz and Rosa were working on replacing the steel ropes between the elevator cabin and the counterweight when Milatz told Rosa to go to the pit at the bottom of the shaft.At Milatz’s instruction, prosecutors said, Rosa secured the counterweight, then used a small saw to cut through the ropes. The elevator cabin plunged down the shaft and crushed Rosa. Prosecutors said Milatz had failed to carry out a procedure called hanging the elevator cabin, which prevents the elevator from falling when the ropes are cut. Additionally, they ...

Toronto police officers charged for taking stolen alcohol from 51 Division

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:12:31 GMT

Two Toronto police constables were charged after the pair allegedly took bottles of alcohol that had been recovered during the arrest of a suspect two weeks ago.A Toronto Police Service (TPS) spokesperson said that on April 12, the two officers arrested one person on several outstanding warrants.During the arrest, two bottles of stolen alcohol were recovered from the suspect. The two officers transported the accused and stolen items to 51 Division in Toronto.The TPS said the two officers were later seen taking the stolen bottles of alcohol to their personal vehicles.Members of the TPS later executed search warrants, and the stolen property was recovered from one officer’s residence and the other officer’s personal vehicle.On Tuesday, 55-year-old Const. Brian James and 27-year-old Const. Thomas Victor of 51 Division were both arrested. They will be suspended with pay, the TPS noted.Const. James and Const. Victor faces several charges, including theft under $5,000, possess...

Idaho Supreme Court justice to retire, cites low salary

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:12:31 GMT

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Idaho Supreme Court Justice John Stegner has announced his resignation, telling the governor that the relatively low pay has made it necessary to return to private practice. The Idaho Legislature gave most state employees cost-of-living raises of up to 7% last year, but refused to approve any raises for judges, and declined to make up the difference during this year’s session. In his letter Monday to Idaho Gov. Brad Little, a Republican, Stegner said his decision is bittersweet and that serving as judge has been the privilege of his professional career. His resignation will take effect at the end of October, and Stegner will serve as a Senior Judge, until any pending appellate cases are resolved. “Given the disparity in pay between a Supreme Court Justice (which is lower than a beginning lawyer at some Boise firms and one of the lowest in the nation) and a lawyer in private practice, I find it necessary financially to leave the public sector and return to t...

Brazil orders Google to halt campaign against speech bill

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:12:31 GMT

BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) — Brazil’s Justice Ministry on Tuesday ordered Google to stop conducting what it called a propaganda campaign against Brazilian legislation aimed at curbing misinformation, or face about $200,000 per hour in fines.The company later Tuesday took down an article the ministry had labeled propaganda, but it was not immediately clear if the big tech giant was in complete compliance with the agency’s order. The ministry and Google did not immediately respond to emailed requests for comment. The legislation, hotly contested by big tech companies including Google, would establish fines and deadlines for removing misinformation and hate speech from social media and messaging apps, and require tech companies to file reports on transparency.President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s government says it is essential to regulate online discourse following a recent spate of fatal school attacks that officials argue was motivated by hate speech and social media forums. The bill was...

Gordon Lightfoot records in high demand following folk music legend’s death

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:12:31 GMT

TORONTO — As fans of the late Gordon Lightfoot mourn the Canadian folk music icon, Toronto record stores say they are already seeing more customers trying to get their hands on his most popular hits.Piers Charnley, associate manager at Kops Records, says he’s sold more Lightfoot records since the singer-songwriter’s death than he had all year.Lightfoot, one of the most renowned voices to emerge from Toronto’s Yorkville folk club scene in the 1960s, died at Sunnybrook Hospital on Monday evening at 84 after suffering numerous health issues in recent decades.Charnley says he’s seen orders come through for many of Lightfoot’s 20 studio albums, including “Don Quixote,” “Sundown” and “Summertime Dream.”He says vintage copies of Lightfoot’s work can be hard to find, with few modern re-presses available.Numerous celebrities and politicians including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau have paid tribute to Lightfoot since his ...

Chicago shelter helps rescue several golden retrievers, terriers from 'living in their own filth'

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:12:31 GMT

CHICAGO — The Chicago shelter One Tail at a Time helped rescue several golden retrievers and a few wheaten terriers from "living in their own filth" at an Iowa puppy mill.On Friday, the organization received a tip from one of their partners in Wisconsin that an "infamous" puppy mill in Iowa recently was shut down and its dogs needed help.Without hesitation, One Tail at a Time sprang into action by calling their network of fosters to meet the 17 golden retrievers and three wheaten terriers in Racine, Wisconsin."When people see a cute golden retriever puppy, they don't always think about where that puppy came from," said Executive Director Heather Owen. "But the reality for these breeding females is confinement, churning out litters, living in their own filth, and not knowing a life of love. They are treated as commodities instead of living beings."The dogs had their tails amputated at the puppy mill and face ear infections and pressure sores."The worst (ear infections) we have ever e...