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South African authorities target coal-smuggling gang they say contributed to a power crisis

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:39:42 GMT

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — South African authorities said they conducted raids across five provinces Thursday to break up a coal-smuggling syndicate they blamed for stealing more than $26 million in coal, degrading state-owned power plants and contributing to an electricity crisis.The criminal gang diverted trucks carrying high-grade coal to power stations, stealing the coal to sell, and replacing it with sub-standard product, the country’s tax and revenue agency said in a statement. The substandard coal has caused crippling damage to the country’s power plants, authorities said. The South African Revenue Service worked with other law enforcement agencies to carry out the search and seizure operations in the Gauteng, Mpumalanga, KwaZulu-Natal, Free State and Limpopo provinces. No arrests have been made yet, national police spokesperson Brig. Athlenda Mathe said.Africa’s most advanced economy is in the midst of a power crisis that has resulted in scheduled rolling blackouts...

North Korea raises specter of nuclear strike over US aircraft carrier’s arrival in South Korea

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:39:42 GMT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea lashed out Friday at the arrival of a U.S. aircraft carrier battle group in South Korea, calling it a provocation and again raising the specter of using nuclear weapons to defend itself.Emboldened by its advancing nuclear arsenal, North Korea has increasingly issued threats to use such weapons preemptively. But the North is still outgunned by U.S. and South Korean forces, and experts say it is unlikely to use its nukes first, though it will continue to upgrade those arms without returning to diplomacy for the time being.The North’s latest nuclear threat came a day after the USS Ronald Reagan and its battle group arrived at South Korea’s southeastern port of Busan, following U.S.-South Korean-Japanese naval exercise in international waters earlier this week.South Korean defense officials said the carrier is to be docked at Busan for five days as part of an agreement to increase the temporary deployments of powerful U.S. military assets in respons...

Movie Review: In the elated ‘Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour,’ every seat is the best seat in the house

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:39:42 GMT

It opens with a clock counting down until show time — the dropped stomach, rollercoaster slowly encroaching its apex sensation — and then, a gentle fake out. Taylor Swift is heard before she is seen. “It’s been a long time…” her voice carries. Then the drop hits: an abridged performance of “Miss Americana & the Heartbreak Prince” into “Cruel Summer,” a track that TikTok breathed new life into four years after its initial release on her 2019 album “Lover.”This is the moment it should become clear: “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” film is a near exact replica of her blockbuster concert performance, which recaps all 10 of her studio albums across 17 years of recorded work. There will be no narrative breaks, no behind-the-scenes footage, no additional ornamentation of the monolithic set (with the exception of a few CGI effects and album title cards to introduce each epoch.) The film delivers on the promise of its title: this is the Eras Tour in full — conveniently viewable ...

RCMP dispute photojournalist’s account of arrest while covering pipeline protest

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:39:42 GMT

VANCOUVER — The RCMP say a photojournalist who is suing the force was not exempt from complying with a court injunction while reporting on protests over the Coastal GasLink pipeline that’s nearing completion in northern British Columbia.In a response to a lawsuit filed by Amber Bracken and news organization The Narwhal, the Mounties say Bracken’s status as a journalist would not place her outside the scope of the injunction that prohibits interference with the pipeline.“There is no general exception in law that exempts a member of the media from complying with valid court orders,” says the response filed in B.C. Supreme Court.The response, filed Oct. 5, alleges Bracken was “not engaged in apparent good faith newsgathering activities” and was instead “aiding or abetting” protesters ahead of her arrest during an injunction enforcement operationin November 2021.It says Bracken “knew or ought to have known” that she was breachi...

Taylor Swift returns to Arrowhead Stadium to see Travis Kelce and the Chiefs face the Broncos

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:39:42 GMT

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Pop superstar Taylor Swift was back at Arrowhead Stadium on Thursday night to watch Travis Kelce and the Kansas City Chiefs take on the Denver Broncos, one day after walking the red carpet at the premiere of her concert movie.Swift and Kelce have been in a budding relationship the past few weeks, ever since the All-Pro tight end invited her to a game when he failed to meet her during her Eras Tour. Swift took him up on his offer late last month, watching the Chiefs beat the Bears from an Arrowhead Stadium suite, then attending the Chiefs’ road win over the New York Jets.Swift was absent last Sunday at Minnesota, when Kelce hurt his ankle in a win over the Vikings. The injury at first appeared to be serious, but Kelce finished out the game, practiced a bit this week and was active Thursday night against the Broncos.Swift showed up wearing a red Chiefs jacket, a significant wardrobe swap from the floral Oscar de la Renta gown she wore at the premiere of “...

GOP's Scalise ends his bid to become House speaker after failing to secure the votes to win gavel

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:39:42 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican Steve Scalise has ended his bid to become House speaker after failing to secure the votes to win the gavel.Scalise told GOP colleagues at a closed-door meeting late Thursday of his decision.Next steps are uncertain as the House is essentially closed while Republicans try to elect a speaker after ousting Kevin McCarthy from the job.“I just shared with my colleagues that I’m withdrawing my name as a candidate for speaker-designee,” Scalise said as he emerged from the closed-door meeting at the Capitol.Scalise, R-La., said the Republican majority “still has to come together and is not there.”He had been working furiously secure the votes after being nominated by a majority of his colleagues, but after hours of private meetings over two days and late into the evening at the Capitol it was clear lawmakers were not budging from their refusal to support him.“There are still some people that have their own agendas,” Scalise said. "And I was very clear, we have t...

MedWatch Digest: A warning about shy kids — and more

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:39:42 GMT

For Thursday, Oct. 12, WGN’s Dina Bair has new medical information, including: More Coverage: WGN's Medical Watch Shyness can impact language test performanceShyness could affect children's performance on language tests and doctors say that could have far-reaching impacts on school performance and mental health. Southern Methodist University psychologists say children who are more reserved communicating with others perform poorly on verbal tests. Those same children thrive now written tests, yet are often given lower assessments due to their fear of speaking in public on oral exams.Researchers measured significant differences in children's performance grades depending on shyness. They say educators and clinicians need to take that into consideration when evaluating children's performance. Human brain cell Atlas provides new insight An atlas of the brain reveals a map of neuropsychiatric disorders. University of California San Diego researchers analyzed more than a million human br...

Driverless cars improve emergency vehicle detection, Austin first responders develop AV training for crews

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:39:42 GMT

Austin (KXAN) — Cruise, a company that operates autonomous vehicles for rideshares and deliveries, said it has improved its technology to better detect emergency vehicles.According to the company's blog, innovations to its AV tech include better siren detection, slowing down when a scene or siren has been detected, and recognizing and avoiding emergency scenes. How to stay safe sharing the road with driverless cars KXAN.com reached out to several emergency response agencies who said companies like Cruise have been in touch with them to help develop its detection systems.Captain Darren Noak with Austin-Travis County EMS said it provided several vehicles to the company to help its software become familiar with what its emergency vehicles look like.Noak said recently there was an incident where an AV, it is unclear if this was a Cruise vehicle, approached a medical scene.He said the vehicle merged into a right-hand lane, sensed an ambulance, then moved back into the left-hand lane.No...

Social Security to get 3.2% boost next year

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:39:42 GMT

WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) — Soon, bigger paychecks will be going to millions of people who receive Social Security benefits. The Social Security Administration announced that 2024's cost of living adjustment will be 3.2%. Next year's 3.2% COLA is much smaller than the 8.7% bump in 2023, but experts say it's still higher than average.  Get the latest news, weather, sports and entertainment delivered right to your inbox! Bankrate Analyst Mark Hamrick explains the annual adjustment is tied to inflation. "A 3.2% increase is above the 20 year average of 2.6," Hamrick said. "This change amounts to an increase of about $50 a month."Mary Johnson is an analyst with The Senior Citizens League. She expects this increase will make a difference. "We are lucky we have the COLA," Johnson said. "That makes the third year in a row that we've received a higher than normal COLA. For that reason I think people can feel a little bit of relief."But for people living on a fixed income, th...

Steve Scalise drops out of Speaker's race

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:39:42 GMT

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) on Thursday dropped out of the race for Speaker, just one day after he won the Republican nomination for the role.Scalise narrowly prevailed in a secret ballot internal GOP election on Wednesday, but it was clear almost immediately that he would struggle to get the 217 votes needed on the House floor.Momentum swung further against him, and as Thursday progressed an increasing number of Republicans declared they would not cast their votes for him.It's not clear where the fractured Republican conference will go next, as the House closes in on 10 days without an elected Speaker.“It’s been quite a journey. And there’s still a long way to go. I just shared with my colleagues that I’m withdrawing my name as a candidate for the speaker designee,” Scalise said when leaving a GOP conference meeting Thursday night.He added, “This country is counting on us to come back together. This House of Representatives needs a Speaker and we need to open up the...