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The likelihood that Earth briefly hits key warming threshold grows bigger and closer, UN forecasts

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:13:29 GMT

There’s a two-out-of-three chance that the world will temporarily hit a key warming limit within the next five years, the United Nations weather agency said Wednesday.But it likely would only be a fleeting and less worrisome flirtation with the internationally agreed upon temperature threshold. Scientists expect a temporary burst of heat from El Nino — a naturally-occurring weather phenomenon — to supercharge human-caused warming from the burning of coal, oil and gas to new heights. Temperatures are expected to then slip back down a bit.The World Meteorological Organization forecasts a 66% likelihood that between now and 2027, the globe will have a year that averages 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than the mid 19th century.That number is critical because the 2015 Paris climate agreement set 1.5 degrees Celsius as a global guardrail in atmospheric warming, with countries pledging to try to prevent that much long-term warming if possible. Scientists in a spe...

Former Pakistani premier Imran Khan says police are surrounding his home

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:13:29 GMT

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan said Wednesday that police were surrounding his house in an upscale area of the eastern city of Lahore and he could be arrested.However, police said they were surrounding the home because dozens of people linked to last week’s violent attacks on public property and military installations were hiding there.“Probably my last tweet before my next arrest. Police have surrounded my house,” Khan wrote on Twitter.The development comes hours after Amir Mir, a spokesman for the Punjab provincial government, said Khan has 24 hours to hand over 40 suspects allegedly hiding at his home or face a police raid. He told a news conference that so far 3,400 suspects have been arrested and more raids were underway.THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. The following is AP’s earlier story. Pakistani authorities on Wednesday pressed on with efforts to try civilians involved in recent anti-government protests before military courts despite appea...

Exceptional rains in drought-struck northern Italy kill 8, cancel Formula One Grand Prix

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:13:29 GMT

ROME (AP) — Exceptional rains Wednesday in a drought-struck region of northern Italy swelled rivers over their banks, killing at least eight people, forcing the evacuation of thousands and prompting officials to warn that Italy needs a national plan to combat climate change-induced flooding.The heavy rains also forced Formula One to cancel this weekend’s Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix to not overtax emergency crews that were already stretched thin in responding to the rivers of mud that have torn through the region, wreaking havoc on infrastructure and homes.Days of rainstorms stretched across a broad swath of northern Italy and the Balkans, where “apocalyptic” floods, landslides and evacuations were also reported in Croatia, Bosnia and Slovenia.The vice president of Emilia-Romagna, Irene Priolo, said eight people were killed and others unaccounted for in flooding that forced the evacuation of more than 10,000 people.Italian Civil Protection Minister Nello Musumeci called for a new natio...

Stock market today: Wall Street drifts higher as debt talks continue

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:13:29 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street is drifting higher, still stuck in the tight range it’s been in for a month and a half. The S&P 500 was up 0.4% early Wednesday, on pace for a seventh straight weekly move of less than 1%. That would be its longest such streak since 2018. The Dow was up 0.5% and the Nasdaq rose 0.4%. Markets got some lift from hopes that the U.S. government may avoid a first-ever default on its debt. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said Democrats and Republicans could reach a deal by the end of the week, though the two sides remain far apart. THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.Wall Street bounced back modestly early Wednesday with more big retailers reporting sales and profit pointing to an American consumer that’s reigning in spending under the weight of ongoing inflation and anxiety about a possible recession.Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.4% and the S&P 500 ticked up 0.3%. Target shares bounced around early ...

Chief: Man shot by police ran at ‘full sprint’ toward officer while holding sword over head

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:13:29 GMT

OXFORD, Mass. (AP) — A man shot by police in Massachusetts last weekend was holding a sword over his head and running at an officer at a “full sprint,” police said.The 23-year-old man faces attempted murder and other charges in connection with the encounter in Oxford at about 6 a.m. Sunday, police Chief Anthony Saad said in a statement Tuesday.The officer was in a marked cruiser but was not responding to a call when the suspect, on foot, abruptly entered the roadway and blocked the vehicle, Saad said.The suspect, an Oxford resident, advanced on the cruiser while swinging the sword, so the officer put his vehicle into reverse “to create distance between him and the defendant,” Saad said.When the officer could not back up any farther due to traffic, he stepped out of the cruiser and ordered the suspect to drop the sword.The suspect “then began a full sprint towards the officer with the sword over his head,” the statement said. The officer again ordered the suspect to stop ...

Clarification: Ford-Pickup Recall story

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:13:29 GMT

DETROIT (AP) — In a story published May 17, 2023, The Associated Press reported that Ford was recalling 310,000 trucks in the U.S. because the driver’s front air bag may not inflate in a crash. The NHTSA inadvertently reposted the recall on its site Wednesday, but it was originally announced on May 13, 2022. The trucks have been recalled and remain subject to that recall, but the AP recommends that editors not include the story in headlines packages. The Associated Press

Naomi Klein has new, more personal book out in September, ‘Doppelganger’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:13:29 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Activist and best-selling author Naomi Klein has a book coming out in September that will combine personal reflections with political reporting and cultural commentary.Farrar, Straus & Giroux announced Wednesday that in “Doppelganger: A Trip into the Mirror World,” Klein will explore a time rife with “confusion across political, technological, environmental and medical spheres.”One point of confusion touched on in the book: Online commentators who mistake Klein for the author Naomi Wolf, leading Klein to tweet “please keep your Naomis straight” in 2020.Klein said in a statement Wednesday that the book was a “departure” for her, “more personal, more experimental” and will explore “what it feels like to watch one’s identity slip away in the digital ether.”“Mostly, it’s an attempt to grapple with the wildness of right now — with conspiracy cultures surging and strange left-right alliances emerging and nobody seeming to be quite what they seem,” she...

5 tips to tackle a home remodel in an uncertain economy

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:13:29 GMT

Spring is kickoff season for many kitchen remodels, bathroom updates and deck repairs, but recent economic turmoil may have homeowners questioning their home improvement plans.Spending on home renovations is expected to slow this year because of factors such as declining home sales and values, rising interest rates , continuing inflation and rumblings of a coming recession, says Abbe Will, senior research associate with Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies.As economic growth slows, planning and prioritizing will be key to remodeling confidently. Here are five tips to help you remodel in an uncertain economy.1. START WITH AN EMERGENCY FUNDEven when the economy is doing well, it’s ideal to have an emergency fund before starting a remodel, says Eric Maldonado, a certified financial planner based in San Luis Obispo, California.“What you’re trying to avoid is starting with nothing saved, taking out debt to afford these things and not really providing yourself with a smar...

4 Buffalo Grove High School students killed in multi-vehicle crash in Wheeling

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:13:29 GMT

WHEELING, Ill. — Four students at Buffalo Grove High School were killed in a three-vehicle crash in Wheeling.According to police, the crash happened around 10:20 p.m. Tuesday at the intersection of Dundee and Schoenbeck roads.Four teens, between the ages of 16 and 18, were killed. High School District 214 has confirmed the teens were students at Buffalo Grove High School. Their identities have not yet been released.One student remains hospitalized, according to the school district.Police said speed and a disregard for traffic signals seem to be the primary factors of the crash. Police investigate after reported shooting on I-290; all lanes closed at Central The school district released the following statement:Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of these students during this time of tragedy. We also offer condolences to all Buffalo Grove students, families and staff members. Names of the students have not been announced publicly out of respect for grieving fa...

University of Chicago issues alert after 2 robberies

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:13:29 GMT

CHICAGO — The University of Chicago issued an alert after two robberies Tuesday night.At around 10:50 p.m., the university said a person was walking to an off-campus residence when they were confronted by two unknown suspects.The victim's property was stolen before the pair fled into a black mini-van.Around 10 minutes later at around 11 p.m., two people were walking on Harper, between 58th and 59th Street, when two unknown suspects, both armed with handguns, exited a white newer model van. Woman shot in South Side apartment; critical The victims were robbed of property at gunpoint, police said.No one is in custody.