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Pope Francis leaves Rome hospital 9 days after surgery

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:31 GMT

ROME (AP) — Pope Francis has been discharged from the Rome hospital where he had abdominal surgery nine days earlier to repair a hernia and remove painful scarring. Francis, 86, left in a wheelchair, smiling and waving and saying “thanks” to a crowd of well-wishers, then stood up so he could get into the small Vatican car awaiting him.The Associated Press

Stock market today: Asian shares track Wall Street rally, Tokyo’s benchmark at 33-year high

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:31 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — Asian shares logged moderate gains on Friday after Wall Street benchmarks swept higher, extending their longest rally in a year and a half. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index closed at a 33-year high, advancing 0.7% to 33,706.08 after the Bank of Japan wrapped up a policy meeting by keeping its ultra-lax monetary stance unchanged, as expected. It is a standout among central banks, most of which have sought to rein in inflation by raising interest rates. The key Japanese rate has stayed at minus 0.1% for a decade and policymakers have indicated they are not convinced that current inflation, which finally has surpassed the BOJ’s target of about 2%, will be sustained. “With extremely high uncertainties surrounding economies and financial markets at home and abroad, the Bank will patiently continue with monetary easing while nimbly responding to developments in economic activity and prices as well as financial conditions,” the BOJ said in a statement.Share prices in Japan hav...

A decade after outcry, SeaWorld launches orca-free park in UAE, its first venture outside the US

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:31 GMT

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The U.S. theme park chain SeaWorld, mired in controversy in recent years over its treatment of killer whales and other marine mammals, has opened a massive new aquatic life park in the United Arab Emirates, its first outside the United States.The $1.2 billion venture with state-owned developer Miral features the world’s largest aquarium and a cylindrical LED screen. There are no orcas here, but the park houses animals like dolphins and seals, whose captivity and training for profit and entertainment purposes are also often criticized as unethical by animal rights advocacy groups.The new facility, which opened to visitors last month, gives the Orlando, Florida-based company a foothold in a fast-growing international tourism destination and the opportunity to continue its rebranding after years of criticism and allegations of animal cruelty.SeaWorld and Miral declined multiple interview requests from The Associated Press. They also did not answer...

Weather's Looking Good for Sunday's Father's Day–Temps Bounce Back From Thursday's 'Back-Door Cold Front

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:31 GMT

A BACK-DOOR COLD FRONT hit right on schedule Thursday—sweeping into the city just after 11am.   Strong, post-frontal NNE winds swept falling temps into the area riding gusts of 25 mph.  Temps at the time the front arrived had hit 88 at Elwood in Will county, 86 at Oswego and Plainfield, 83 at Midway and 80 at O'Hare.  But the warmth wasn't long for the area.Late Thursday's Wind FieldNNE winds traveled the length ofLake Michigan right into Chicago. As those readings were being recorded, air temps up and down the southern Lake Michigan shoreline—from southeast Wisconsin south to northeast Illinois and northwest Indiana—crashed into the mid 50s.  There was a 33-deg temp spread across the cold front as it reached the Chicago area with lakeside temps by early afternoon down to 55 at Waukegan Harbor, Wilmette, the offshore Harrison-Dever Crib and the Kenosha harbor light, with a 56 degree temp at Lake Forest—and readings of 56 at Burns Harbor, IN and 57 at Michigan City, IN.Latest Drought...

Ukrainian flag and Russian corpses evidence of Kyiv's advance in south

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:31 GMT

Ukraine's blue and yellow flag flew over a ruined grocery store and Russian soldiers lay dead in the street of the village of Neskuchne, reached by journalists on Tuesday (13 June) in the first independent confirmation of Ukraine's biggest advances for seven months against Russia's invasion.Russia has not acknowledged any Ukrainian gains, and President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that for now he saw no need for a new mobilisation of fighting men to confront the Ukrainian counteroffensive launched last week."There is no such need today," Putin told a televised meeting of Russian war correspondents and military bloggers when asked about another mobilisation. But he added that it all depended on what Russia wanted to achieve in what it describes as a "special military operation" in Ukraine.Not a single resident could be found in Neskuchne, one of a cluster of settlements on the Mokry Yali river that Ukraine says its troops have captured in a steady advance southwards into Russian-he...

Putin ponders a question: Should Russia try to take Kyiv again?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:31 GMT

Russian President Vladimir Putin (pictured) said on Tuesday (13 June) that any further mobilization would depend on what Russia wanted to achieve in the war in Ukraine, adding that he faced a question only he could answer - should Russia try to take Kyiv again?More than 15 months since Putin sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022, Russian and Ukrainian forces are still battling with artillery, tanks and drones along a 1,000-km (600-mile) front line, though well away from the capital Kyiv.Putin last September announced what he said was a "partial mobilisation" of 300,000 reservists, triggering an exodus of at least as many Russian men who sought to dodge the draft by leaving for republics of the former Soviet Union.Asked about another mobilisation at a meeting with 18 Russian war correspondents and bloggers in the Kremlin, Putin said: "There is no such need today."Russia's paramount leader, though, was less than definitive, saying it depended on what Moscow wanted to achieve and p...

Crews knock down large structure fire in downtown Los Angeles

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:31 GMT

Crews with the Los Angeles Fire Department extinguished a greater alarm blaze, dubbed the "Crocker Fire," at a one-story commercial building in downtown Los Angeles Thursday evening. Firefighters were dispatched to the scene, located at 832 S. San Pedro St., at around 9:41 p.m. where flames were seen burning through the structure’s roof, LAFD said, adding that crews initially took a defensive position with the fire, fighting it from the perimeter. Aerial footage from Sky5 showed a large presence of first responders at the scene. While they attempted to extinguish the blaze from a portion of the structure's roof, firefighters also worked to keep the fire from spreading to other nearby structures. It took 117 firefighters approximately 74 minutes to knock down the blaze where at least three units in the structure, which contained businesses with dense interior storage, including textiles, heavily burned, LAFD said. Crews were expected to remain at the scene overnight to "salvage and o...

San Jose Fire Department Captain demoted after Pink Poodle incident, report shows

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:31 GMT

A San Jose Fire Department Captain was demoted after a bikini-clad woman was filmed exiting a city firetruck before entering the Pink Poodle strip club in October, according to city officials.It’s unclear exactly when the demotion occurred, but it was reportedly the only action taken after the video taken on South Bascom Avenue went viral on social media eight months ago — attracting international media coverage.On Oct. 5, fire crews for Engine 4 were dropping off an unauthorized male at his workplace, the Pink Poodle, according to an April 25 memo from Fire Chief Robert Sapien. While the engine sat outside the strip club, a woman approached the firefighters, who initially refused to allow her in the truck for a ride-along but relented when “she persisted,” the two-page memo said.The firetruck then drove around the club, dropping off the woman at approximately 9:10 p.m. She was reportedly in the truck for 4 minutes. The caption of the video — shared widely by San José Fo...

Driver tries to flee from traffic stop, crashes at Hwy 92 on-ramp: police

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:31 GMT

(KRON) -- A driver tried to flee from a traffic stop Wednesday night but instead lost control and crashed, the Foster City Police Department (FCPD) said. The crash happened on the Hwy 92 on-ramp near Foster City and San Mateo where the driver collided into a concrete divider. The vehicle had "major" damage, and the driver is "lucky" to be alive, according to the San Mateo Police Department (SMPD). The driver was taken to the hospital. No other individuals were hurt.Police said it was a "miracle" the driver only suffered a fractured tibia. Photos from the crash posted by police can be viewed below.(Foster City Police Department)(Foster City Police Department)(Foster City Police Department)(Foster City Police Department)(Foster City Police Department)The driver was not identified."We guess he thought a stay in the hospital was better than a stay at County Jail for his no bail warrant(s) or for the suspected meth he had in his car," SMPD wrote on Facebook. FCPD, SMPD and the San Mateo ...

Pope Francis leaves Rome hospital 9 days after having surgery for abdominal hernia and scarring

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:31 GMT

ROME (AP) — Pope Francis leaves Rome hospital 9 days after having surgery for abdominal hernia and scarring.Source