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2 US Army helicopters crash in Alaska on training flight

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:13:29 GMT

JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska (AP) — Two U.S. army helicopters crashed Thursday in Alaska returning from a training flight, the second accident involving military helicopters in the state this year.Each helicopter carried two people, said John Pennell, a spokesperson for the U.S. Army Alaska. Pennell said he did not immediately have any other information he could share about the condition of those involved.First responders were on scene at the crash site, near Healy, Alaska, a statement from the U.S. Army Alaska said. The AH-64 Apache helicopters were from Fort Wainwright, based near Fairbanks.Officials said the incident was under investigation and more details would be released when they become available.Austin McDaniel, a spokesperson for the Alaska State Troopers, said the state agency was not involved in the response.In February, two soldiers were injured when an Apache helicopter rolled after taking off from Talkeetna. The aircraft was one of four traveling to Joint B...

2 teens charged in armed carjacking robbery in Brampton

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:13:29 GMT

Two teens are in custody following an armed carjacking robbery involving a ride-share vehicle in Brampton. Peel police say two young people were picked up in the area of Dixie Road and Queen Street after booking a ride through a ride-sharing app on Thursday. It’s alleged that when the pair arrived at their destination, one of them pulled out and knife and demanded the driver get out of the car before fleeing the scene in the vehicle. Police say the driver was not physically injured. A short time later, police located the vehicle and took the teens into custody. Both were found to have disguises and at least one weapon was recovered. A further search of a home connected to one of the suspects turned up more evidence related to the carjacking. Police say a 16-year-old and a 17-year-old have been charged with robbery and wearing a disguise with intent. The suspects cannot be named under provisions of the Youth Criminal Justice Act. Investigators say further charges are pending. O...

Court unseals search warrant affidavits in Sanford probe

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:13:29 GMT

Investigators found that images of nude underage girls were transmitted on an email account they linked to billionaire philanthropist T. Denny Sanford, documents unsealed Thursday showed, but they were unable to prove who sent them or where that person was at the time.Sanford’s attorney said in a statement that the newly released documents contain only allegations and “various individuals had documented access to the electronic devices at issue, including signs of hacking.” Sanford, South Dakota’s richest man, was not charged after the state attorney general’s office said its investigation into child pornography allegations found no prosecutable offenses within its jurisdiction. Sanford’s attorneys fought to keep the affidavits used to issue search warrants sealed, but the Sioux Falls Argus Leader and ProPublica argued they should be made public and the state Supreme Court ruled this month that they would be unsealed.Sanford has given billions to hospitals, universities ...

School ages near toxic plumes as Nevada tribe calls for help

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:13:29 GMT

CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) — Cracked windows, a bat colony in the ceiling, spotty heating and close proximity to hazardous contaminants in a long-dilapidated school brought over 100 tribal members to the Nevada Legislature on Thursday, where they said long-standing funding pleas for a new school have long been neglected. The public Owyhee Combined School on the Duck Valley Indian Reservation hosts 330 students from pre-K through 12th grade. It’s in a remote area along the Nevada-Idaho border, 100 miles (160.93 kilometers) from the 20,000-person city of Elko, Nevada, and 100 miles (160.93 kilometer) from 16,000-person city of Mountain Home, Idaho. The Shoshone-Paiute Tribes on the reservation have about 2,000 members, nearly all of whom have attended the school built in 1953.As tribal leaders have pleaded with county and state lawmakers for new school funding, conditions have grown worse. The bat colony living in the ceiling leaves drippings that ebb into the home economics room. Stray b...

‘The Hate u Give’ author awards student writing scholarship

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:13:29 GMT

CANTON, Miss. (AP) — Bestselling author Angie Thomas on Thursday surprised a senior at a Mississippi high school with a full-ride scholarship for creative writing to the private university where Thomas earned her bachelor’s degree.Thomas, currently on a new book tour, delivered the news via video. Students cheered as she congratulated Canton High School senior Ahniya Myers for winning the 2023 Angie Thomas Writers Scholarship.“As I read Ahniya’s writing samples, I immediately fell in love with her craft,” said Thomas. “Her talent and skill blew me away, and I know that the creative writing program was created with a student like her in mind.”The scholarship was named in honor of Thomas, a 2011 graduate of Belhaven University in Jackson, Mississippi. It was created to help young aspiring writers who need extra support to make their dreams of authorship a reality, the university said in a news release.“By giving Ahniya this scholarship, she can focus more on her studies and writing, w...

Bryce Young taken at No. 1 in NFL draft by Panthers

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:13:29 GMT

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Bryce Young’s talent outweighed concerns about his size.The Carolina Panthers selected the slender and dynamic Alabama quarterback with the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft Thursday night, seven weeks after making a blockbuster trade with Chicago to move up to get their choice of potential franchise players.The Panthers chose the 2021 Heisman Trophy winner over Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud, Florida’s Anthony Richardson and Kentucky’s Will Levis. New coach Frank Reich said earlier in the week that the organization reached a consensus Monday after several weeks of deliberation.A dual-threat playmaker with a strong arm and an elite combination of instincts and intelligence, Young also possesses the intangibles and characteristics coaches desire, including leadership ability and a strong work ethic.But the biggest question about Young is his size. He measured at 5-foot-10 1/8 and weighed 204 pounds at the combine. Though he dominated the SEC, some scouts and coaches fear ...

Grand Chief says B.C. declaration fund ‘special moment in history’ to build province

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:13:29 GMT

VICTORIA — Indigenous leaders in British Columbia say a $200-million provincial government fund will help First Nations participate fully in the implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.Several Indigenous leaders heaped praise on the new government fund at a news conference at the legislature, saying the Declaration Act Engagement Fund assists First Nations to offset costs associated with the negotiations connected to implement declaration agreements.Green Party critic Adam Olsen previously said in the legislature that First Nations leaders expressed concerns they are at a disadvantage in talks with the province due to a lack of funds and resources.Murray Rankin, Indigenous relations and reconciliation minister, said the flexible fund can support staffing, training, community-level meetings and other resources required in government-to-government work.The B.C. government unanimously passed the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People...

Amazon Q1 revenue, profit grow but cloud unit a concern

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:13:29 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Amazon on Thursday reported stronger-than-expected revenue and profits for the first quarter, sending its stocks higher in after-hours trading. But its prices took a dip in the evening amid concerns about a continued slowdown in the company’s profitable cloud computing unit AWS. Seattle-based Amazon said it pulled in $127.4 billion in revenue for the January-March quarter, a 9% growth compared to the $116.4 billion it reported during the same period last year. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had expected $124.6 billion. Profits came out to $3.2 billion, or 31 cents per share, higher than the $2.24 billion industry analysts had expected. It’s also a strong improvement from the same period last year, when the e-commerce giant reported its first quarterly loss in years mainly driven by a loss in value of its investment in the electric vehicle company Rivian Automotive. Amazon’s stock rose as much as 10% in after-hours trading as investors initially welcom...

Railroads warned about the problems long trains can cause

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:13:29 GMT

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Federal regulators are warning railroads that the long trains they favor can cause all kinds of problems and contribute to derailments, so they want the railroads to ensure their training and operating procedures account for that.The Federal Railroad Administration stopped short of recommending in its latest safety advisory issued Thursday that railroads limit the size of their trains, which can routinely stretch more than 2 miles long. However, they did suggest a number of precautions including making sure engineers know how to handle them and that locomotives don’t lose communication with devices at the end of trains that can help trigger the brakes in an emergency.Currently, there aren’t any restrictions on train length but members of Congress and state lawmakers in at least six states have proposed establishing limits particularly in the wake of the fiery Feb. 3 Norfolk Southern derailment in Ohio. The major freight railroads have pushed back again...

Culture war clash gives Kansas new medication abortion law

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:13:29 GMT

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas clinics will be required to tell patients that medication abortions can be stopped using a drug regimen that the providers consider ineffective and potentially dangerous after a key legislative vote Thursday in the nation’s ongoing partisan battle over culture war issues.The Republican-controlled state Senate voted 29-11 along party lines to override Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s veto of the medication abortion “reversal” measure. The GOP-controlled House overrode the veto Wednesday on an 84-40 vote, and the new law takes effect July 1. Kelly vetoed more than a dozen bills restricting abortion providers, rolling back transgender rights or enacting other conservative policies that have been pursued by Republicans across the U.S. With top GOP lawmakers prevailed on a majority of the Kansas measures, Kelly had some key victories. Republicans moved ahead on anti-abortion measures despite a decisive statewide vote in August 2022 affirming abortion r...