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White House weighing trip by President Joe Biden to survey Maui damage. Follow live updates

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:55:21 GMT

By The Associated PressFollow live updates about wildfires that have devastated parts of Maui in Hawaii, killing dozens of people and destroying the historic town of Lahaina. The wildfires are the deadliest in the U.S. in more than a century. The cause was under investigation. Even where the fires have retreated, authorities have warned that toxic byproducts may remain, including in drinking water, after the flames spewed poisonous fumes.It’s often one of the first questions asked after a natural disaster strikes: Will the president visit?While there’s no firm date yet for a trip by President Joe Biden to survey the Maui wildfire damage, an administration official said “active conversations” about it are being had.Over the weekend, Biden had said, “we’re looking at it,” referring to a visit, as he rode past reporters on his bicycle near his Delaware beach home.On Tuesday, White House deputy press secretary Olivia Dalton said officials are di...

Recipe: Shishito Gremolata is the perfect topping for tri-tip or any grilled steak

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:55:21 GMT

Brad Prose, grilling and barbecue expert, as well as founder of the popular recipe site Chiles and Smoke, combines the alluring union of smoke and spicy heat in the dishes featured in his new cookbook. One of my favorites from his book, “Chiles and Smoke” (Harvard Common Press, $26.99), is his Shishito Gremolata. The tasty sauce, chunky and packed with flavor, combines shishito peppers, grilled and chopped, with parsley, garlic, and shallot, as well as walnuts, lemon zest and juice, plus salt and pepper to taste.He spoons it over grilled tri-tip, but it’s delicious atop any grilled-to-perfection steak.Shishito peppers have notes of sweetness and are slightly smoky. Generally, they are mild, but are occasionally blessed with spicy heat. There’s no way to look at them and determine their degree of mouth fire. I suggest tasting the gremolata before serving. If it’s too fiery, pass the gremolata at the table, warning guests with sensitive palates to just try a smidgeon on their beef. Ni...

Mayo Clinic Minute: 4 ways to help kids overcome back-to-school anxiety

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:55:21 GMT

DeeDee Stiepan | (TNS) Mayo Clinic News NetworkHeading back to school after a long summer break can be an exciting time for kids and caregivers. But for some students, the anxiousness of heading back to school may be fueled by fears or worry. In this Mayo Clinic Minute, Dr. Stephen Whiteside, a Mayo Clinic child psychologist, offers four tips on how to help kids overcome back-to-school anxiety.Many of the things parents and caregivers can do to help kids with back-to-school worries are fairly straightforward.“The first one is staying calm and warm. Realizing that when kids are nervous and worry, they often express that through acting up, being more irritable. Kids usually take those emotions out on their parents because that’s the safe place to do so,” says Dr. Whiteside.Some kids might feel overwhelmed at the thought of interacting and reconnecting with peers, which is why Dr. Whiteside suggests parents make efforts to book play dates for kids to reconnect before ...

Denver police officer fatally shot a man she thought held a knife. It was a marker

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:55:21 GMT

DENVER (AP) — A Denver police officer fatally shot a man who lunged at her with what she thought was a knife. It turned out to be a black marker, investigators said.Body-worn camera video shows the suspect, Brandon Cole, 36, raising the marker to chest level as he closed in on the officer just before she fired two shots at him.“This is a tremendous tragedy,” Chief Ron Thomas said during a news conference Monday. The Denver District Attorney’s Office will review the legality of the shooting.A neighbor had called 911 on Aug. 5 to report potential domestic violence involving Cole, his wife and his teenage son, The Denver Post reported. Police Cmdr. Matt Clark said Monday that the caller reported that the woman may have been pushed out of her wheelchair, and that Cole was “going after” his son.When officers arrived, the woman was sitting on the street next to a wheelchair and told an officer, “Don’t, don’t pull your gun out on my husband, please,” the body camera recording showed....

Western states will not lose as much Colorado River water in 2024, despite long-term challenges

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:55:21 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal officials said Tuesday they will ease water cuts for Western states reliant on the Colorado River next year thanks to a slightly improved outlook, but long-term challenges remain. The river serves seven U.S. states, Native American tribes and two states in Mexico. It also supports a multibillion-dollar farm industry in the West and generates hydropower used across the region. Years of overuse by farms and cities, and the effects of drought worsened by climate change has meant much less water flows today through the Colorado River than in previous decades.The U.S. government in 2021 announced cuts that hit Arizona particularly hard. Last year, those cuts grew more severe thanks to continued drought, poor precipitation and less runoff from the river’s Rocky Mountains source. A wetter winter and conservation measures have helped improve the river’s health a bit this summer, but experts warn a drier future is ahead. Not much will change for Western ...

Alberta’s electricity cost surge helps drive inflation even as energy prices drop

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:55:21 GMT

Statistics Canada says a spike in the amount Albertans paid for electricity last month counteracted an overall decline in energy prices in July — and was one of the key reasons cited by the agency as the overall inflation rate ticked up.The agency says energy prices were down 8.2 per cent in July on a year-over-year basis, compared with 14.6 per cent in June. That was driven both by gasoline prices falling less dramatically from prices a year ago, along with electricity prices rising at a faster pace in July than they did in June.Yet the price of electricity was up 11.7 per cent last month compared with 5.8 per cent in June, with the gain attributed to a 127.8 per cent increase in Alberta electricity prices.Statistics Canada notes Alberta’s electricity costs are often volatile and were influenced by high summer demand. July’s costs also rose compared with last year due to the province phasing out temporary measures that helped keep energy costs lower before the summer.El...

Accounts of ‘body checks’ at Miss Universe Indonesia shock the nation as contestants speak out

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:55:21 GMT

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Their dreams of representing Indonesia in the 2023 Miss Universe pageant turned to nightmares when they were forced to undergo “body checks” in front of local organizers. Now seven contestants have filed complaints with the police, accusing the organizers of sexual harassment, their lawyer said Tuesday. During the July 29-Aug. 3 Miss Universe Indonesia contest in the capital of Jakarta — and ahead of the show’s Grand Final event — the contestants were told to strip to their underwear for “body checks” for scars or cellulite, said lawyer Melissa Anggraini. The checks took place in a ballroom at the downtown Sari Pacific Hotel, where the contest was held, with about two dozen people present, including men. Five of the contestants said they were then photographed topless, Anggraini said. “We have obtained some evidences, even videos showing that the organizer had carried out ‘body checks’,” she added. One of her clients, 23-year-old model Priskila Ribka ...

Renaming Toronto’s Dundas Street: ‘Important first step’ or wasteful expense?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:55:21 GMT

For some people, renaming Toronto’s Dundas Street is a necessary step to confront the history of a city built in part by individuals connected to the British Empire’s transatlantic slave trade.Others say the estimated $ 8.6-million cost of renaming the 23-kilometre thoroughfare is a wasteful expense for a city facing a financial crisis, including a looming budget shortfall estimated at $1.5 billion.The renaming looks set to move forward after Toronto’s new mayor, Olivia Chow, voiced support for the project earlier this month, with her spokesman Shirven Rezvany endorsing it as a “response to community wishes.”But while taking questions from reporters on Monday, Ontario’s Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy appeared to question the wisdom of that decision.When asked if the province would be giving Toronto more money to cover the budget shortfall, Bethlenfalvy said, “We’ve been there for Toronto, we’ve put in billions of dollars to ...

Madonna reschedules tour after ICU stay, North American dates kick off this December

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:55:21 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Madonna ‘s rescheduled Celebration Tour will kick off in Brooklyn, New York, in a matter of months.In June, Madonna suffered what her manager called a “serious bacterial infection” that led to her hospitalization in an intensive care unit for several days. The North American leg of her Celebration Tour was originally scheduled to start July 15 in Vancouver, British Columbia, and to run through October 8 in Las Vegas. It was postponed as she recovered. Her tour will now start on October 14, at London’s O2 Arena.On Tuesday, Live Nation announced that the majority of Madonna’s North American tour dates have been rescheduled. They immediately follow a stint in the U.K. and Europe, kicking off on December 13 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, and running through April 24, 2024, when it will conclude at Mexico City’s Palacio de los Deportes.Dates in San Francisco, Las Vegas and Phoenix — as well as Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Nashville, Tennessee — hav...

Ex-FBI counterintelligence official pleads guilty to conspiracy charge for helping Russian oligarch

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:55:21 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — A former high-ranking FBI counterintelligence official pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge Tuesday, admitting that he agreed after leaving the agency to work for a Russian oligarch he had once investigated to seek dirt on the oligarch’s wealthy rival in violation of sanctions on Russia.Charles McGonigal, 55, entered the plea in federal court in Manhattan to a single count of conspiring to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and to commit money laundering, saying he was “deeply remorseful for it.”McGonigal told Judge Jennifer H. Rearden that he carried out his crime in the spring and fall of 2021, accepting over $17,000 to help Russian energy magnate Oleg Deripaska by collecting derogatory information about a Russian oligarch who was a business competitor of Deripaska.Sentencing was set for Dec. 14, when McGonigal could face up to five years in prison.Assistant U.S. Attorney Rebecca Dell told the judge that prosecutors had proof McGonigal w...