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Texas officials name suspect arrested and charged in arson that killed 5 in San Marcos in 2018

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:29:28 GMT

SAN MARCOS, Texas (AP) — Officials in San Marcos, Texas, have named the man charged with intentionally starting a fire five years ago which killed five people and displaced 200 others. Jacobe De Leon O Shea Ferguson, of Austin, was arrested early Wednesday, Jonathan Henderson, Fire Marshal for the San Marcos Fire Department announced in a news conference Thursday.Ferguson was a student at Texas State University in San Marcos at the time of the fire, Henderson said. Ferguson is accused of setting the July 20, 2018, blaze which damaged the Iconic Village and Vintage Pads apartments in San Marcos, a city of almost 70,000 people southwest of Austin. Ferguson didn’t live in the building where the fire happened, Henderson said. He and other officials declined to say where Ferguson did live at the time.They also declined to comment on any suspected motive.People who lost loved ones in the fire and those who still bear injuries have known since late 2018 that the fire was set on purpo...

Wisconsin governor’s 400-year veto angers opponents in state with long history of creative cuts

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:29:28 GMT

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers’ partial veto that attempts to lock in a school funding increase for 400 years drew outrage and surprise from his political opponents, but it’s just the latest creative cut in a state that’s home to the most powerful partial gubernatorial veto in the country.“Everybody will shout and scream,” said former Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle, “but he’s got ’em.”Wisconsin governors have the most expansive partial veto power in the country because, unlike in other states, they can strike nearly any part of a budget bill. That includes wiping out numbers, punctuation and words in spending bills to sometimes create new law that wasn’t the intention of the Legislature.That’s exactly what the Democratic Evers did on Wednesday with a two-year state budget passed by the Republican-controlled Legislature.The Legislature had language in the budget increasing the per pupil spending authority for K-12 public schools by $325 in the 2023-24 and...

2 New Jersey firefighters died battling a blaze deep in a ship carrying 1,200 vehicles

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:29:28 GMT

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Two firefighters were killed and five others injured battling a blaze that began deep inside a docked cargo ship carrying more than a thousand vehicles, officials said Thursday.Responding firefighters found five to seven vehicles already on fire when they reached the 10th floor of the cargo ship at Port Newark around 9:30 p.m. Wednesday night. The blaze quickly extended to the 11th and 12th floors, and as firefighters were pushed back by the intense heat, two of them were lost, Newark Fire Chief Rufus Jackson said at a news conference at the port, where the fire was still burning early Thursday,Firefighters weren’t initially able to find their colleagues. Outside rescue companies from around the state were called in. Augusto “Augie” Acabou, 45, and Wayne “Bear” Brooks Jr., 49, were found and removed from the structure but unfortunately they lost their lives, Jackson said.Three Newark firefighters and two Elizabeth firefighters were treated for injuries including ...

Carmaker Stellantis signs deal with firm seeking to mine in Nebraska for rare earths needed in EVs

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:29:28 GMT

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The company that wants to mine for critical minerals in southeast Nebraska has signed a deal with Stellantis, giving the automaker access to the rare earth elements used to produce high-powered magnets needed for its electric vehicles.NioCorp announced the tentative agreement with the automaker whose brands include Chrysler, Alfa Romeo and Maserati on Thursday. The companies didn’t disclose how much Stellantis will pay because those details are still being negotiated, but this deal with such a high-profile buyer will likely provide a boost to NioCorp’s effort to raise $1.1 billion to establish the mine about 80 miles (130 kilometers) south of Omaha near the town of Elk Creek.It’s also not clear just how much of the highly sought-after elements Stellantis would be able to buy as part of this agreement because NioCorp is still working to determine whether it will be make economic sense to produce the neodymium-praseodymium oxide, dysprosium oxide, ...

The Afghan Taliban say they banned beauty salons because they offered forbidden services

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:29:28 GMT

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Women’s beauty salons were banned in Afghanistan because they offered services forbidden by Islam and caused economic hardships for grooms’ families during wedding festivities, the Taliban said Thursday.The explanation came days after the group confirmed they were giving all salons in the country one month to wind down their businesses and close shop, drawing concern from international officials worried about the impact on female entrepreneurs.The ruling is the latest curb on the rights and freedoms of Afghan women and girls, following edicts barring them from education, public spaces and most forms of employment.In a video clip released Thursday, Sadiq Akif Mahjer, the spokesman for the Taliban-run Virtue and Vice Ministry, listed a series of services salons offered that he said went against Islam. Those included eyebrow shaping, the use of other people’s hair to augment a woman’s natural hair and the application of makeup, which would inter...

An SUV crash at a London school kills an 8-year-old girl. A woman is arrested for dangerous driving

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:29:28 GMT

LONDON (AP) — An 8-year-old girl was killed and 15 people were injured Thursday when an SUV crashed into a private elementary school on a narrow road in southwest London as the children were celebrating the end of the school year. The crash wasn’t believed to be terrorism, and the driver was taken into custody.The girl died at the scene, Detective Chief Superintendent Clair Kelland said at a briefing near the crash site in London’s Wimbledon district.“Our thoughts are with her family at this incredibly difficult time,” said a visibly shaken Kelland, who is the Metropolitan Police force’s local commander for southwest London. “The driver of a car, a woman in her 40s, stopped at the scene and has since been arrested for causing death by dangerous driving and remains in police custody.”She confirmed that the crash wasn’t being treated as terror-related, but urged people not to speculate as to what happened.Dr. John Martin, chief paramedic for the London Ambulance Service, s...

What is Threads? All your questions about Meta’s new Twitter rival, answered.

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:29:28 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Threads, a text-based app built by Meta to rival Twitter, is live.The app, billed as the text version of Meta’s photo-sharing platform Instagram, became available Wednesday night to users in more than 100 countries — including the U.S., Britain, Australia, Canada and Japan. Despite some early glitches, thirty million people had signed up before noon on Thursday, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said on Threads. New arrivals to the platform include celebrities like Oprah, pop star Shakira and chef Gordon Ramsay — as well as corporate accounts from Taco Bell, Netflix, Spotify, the Washington Post and other media outlets.Threads, which Meta says provides “a new, separate space for real-time updates and public conversations,” arrives at a time that many are looking for Twitter alternatives to escape Elon Musk’s raucous oversight of the platform since acquiring it last year for $44 billion. But Meta’s new app has also raised data privacy concerns, an...

Attorney Ben Crump calls on CPS to review removal of Black principals

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:29:28 GMT

CHICAGO -- Civil rights attorney Ben Crump joined local community leaders to call on CPS to take another look at the removal of three African American principals from their schools.Crump is advocating for due process in three cases, saying CPS is corrupt and needs to be held accountable. "We have to look at our whole education system and see where else they are attacking our children because now more than ever, we have to speak up for our children's future," Crump said in a press conference held Thursday. All three principals were present at the conference and said the allegations that sparked the investigation are not credible and are based on their race. Abdule Muhammad was the principle at Lindblom Math and Science Academy on the south side and was removed in March for undisclosed reasons. Gerald Morrow was also removed as principal of Dunbar Vocational Career Academy late last year for another investigation CPS refrained to elaborate on. Fire hydrant painting and getting paid:...

Thief cuts hole in roof of Los Angeles wine shop, steals $700,000 worth of rare bottles

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:29:28 GMT

LOS ANGELES (KTLA) – Surveillance video captured thieves breaking into a Los Angeles wine shop and escaping with over $700,000 worth of rare wines over the weekend.Nazmul Haque Helal, the owner of Lincoln Fine Wines, said the heist took place around 1 a.m. on Saturday morning. Security video captured the thieves arriving in a white pickup truck. The truck had driven around the back parking lot several times before a masked suspect was seen exiting and walking toward the shop.The hole cut by thieves breaking into a wine shop and escaping with over $700,000 worth of rare wines on July 1, 2023. (Lincoln Fine Wines)Surveillance video captures thieves breaking into a wine shop and escaping with over $700,000 worth of rare wines on July 1, 2023. (Lincoln Fine Wines)Surveillance video captures thieves breaking into a wine shop and escaping with over $700,000 worth of rare wines on July 1, 2023. (Lincoln Fine Wines)The suspect quickly climbed on top of a metal container while holding what a...

OceanGate suspends operations after deadly Titan submersible implosion

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:29:28 GMT

(AP) – The company that owned a submersible that fatally imploded on its way to explore the wreck of the Titanic said Thursday it has suspended operations.OceanGate, a company based in Everett, Washington, owned the Titan submersible that is believed to have imploded as it made its descent on June 18 in the North Atlantic. The implosion killed all five people on board, including Stockton Rush, the submersible's pilot and the chief executive officer of the company. Subway sign in Georgia references Titan implosion, sparks controversy: ‘Messed up’ The company's website said Thursday that it “has suspended all exploration and commercial operations.”The Coast Guard is investigating the implosion.OceanGate is based in the U.S. and OceanGate Expeditions, a related company that led the Titan’s dives to the Titanic, is registered in the Bahamas. The Titan submersible itself “was not a U.S. flagged vessel and was never certified or certificated by the U.S. Coast Guard,” the Coast Guard has...