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Projections indicate Swiss approve climate bill as Alpine nation’s glaciers succumb to warming

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:11:21 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — A majority of Swiss citizens on Sunday voted in favor of a bill aimed at introducing new climate measures to sharply curb the rich Alpine nation’s greenhouse gas emissions, first projections indicated.Projections by the GFS Bern Institute based on early vote counting and released by public broadcaster SRF showed that 58% of voters were in favor of the bill. The margin of error was 3%, SRF reported. It was not clear how many of the votes had already been voted.Exact results are expected later in the day.The referendum was sparked by a campaign by scientists and environmentalists to save Switzerland’s iconic glaciers, which are melting away at an alarming rate. Campaigners initially proposed even more ambitious measures but later backed a government plan that requires Switzerland to achieve “net zero” emissions by 2050. It also sets aside more than 3 billion Swiss francs ($3.357 billion) to help wean companies and homeowners off fossil fuels.The nationalist S...

Nearly 100 die as India struggles with a sweltering heatwave in 2 most populous states

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:11:21 GMT

LUCKNOW, India (AP) — At least 96 people died in two of India’s most populous states over the last several days, officials said Sunday, with swaths of the country reeling from a sweltering heatwave.The deaths happened in northern state of Uttar Pradesh and eastern Bihar where authorities warned residents over 60 and others suffering various maladies to stay indoors during the daytime.All the fatalities in Uttar Pradesh, totaling 54, were reported in Ballia district, some 300 kilometers (200 miles) southeast of Lucknow, the state capital. Authorities found out most of those who passed away were over 60 years old and had preexisting health conditions, which may have been exacerbated by the intense heat.S. K. Yadav, a medical officer in Ballia, said in the past three days, some 300 patients were admitted to the district hospital for various ailments aggravated by heat.Due to the gravity of the situation, authorities canceled leave applications of medical personnel in Ballia and p...

Miami’s Francis Suarez looks to become first sitting mayor to be president

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:11:21 GMT

In a 2024 Republican presidential field full of long-shot candidates, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez may be — on paper anyway — the longest long shot of all. No sitting mayor has ever been elected U.S. president, a job that historically has been won by governors, vice presidents, senators or Cabinet secretaries. Some former mayors have become commander in chief, but only after serving in higher-profile positions. None of that has deterred Suarez, who announced his campaign this past week by talking up his experience leading the city of about 450,000 residents. Being a two-term mayor of Miami, he said, has helped him understand and confront issues facing most Americans, such as crime and homelessness. In the video for his kickoff, Suarez went for a run past his childhood home and his high school and spoke of his record of cutting taxes and expanding Miami’s technology economy. “In Miami, we stopped waiting for Washington to lead,” Suarez said. The 45-year-old corporate and real est...

Shooting in St. Louis kills 1, injures 9 young people, report says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:11:21 GMT

ST. LOUIS (AP) — An overnight shooting in a downtown St. Louis building killed one juvenile and wounded nine others, according to a news report.The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department said the shooting happened around 1:45 a.m. Sunday, KMOV-TV reported.Witnesses told the KMOV that the shooting took place inside a building. The names of the victims and the conditions of those wounded in the shooting were not immediately available.The St. Louis police did not immediately respond to an email from The Associated Press seeking additional information.The Associated Press

Pope Francis, back to Vatican routine post-surgery, says thanks to shouts of ‘Long live the pope!’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:11:21 GMT

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Two days after being discharged from the hospital, Pope Francis resumed his cherished Sunday custom of greeting the public in St. Peter’s Square, expressing thanks for the comfort he received after surgery and thanking the crowd shouting “Long live the pope!” Before launching into prepared remarks, Francis expressed gratitude for “affection, attention and friendship” and the assurance of “the support of prayer” during his hospitalization for June 7 abdominal surgery at a Rome hospital to repair a hernia and remove increasingly painful scarring around his intestines.“This human and spiritual closeness for me was a great help and comfort,” Francis told some 15,000 people in the square. ”Thanks to all, thanks to you, thanks from the heart.”The 86-year-old pontiff sounded a bit breathless and hoarse at times, but he gestured frequently with his hands for emphasis, adlibbed at times from the prepared speech, and clearly looked delighted to be b...

Ugandan border town prepares to bury victims of rebel massacre that left 42 dead, mostly students

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:11:21 GMT

KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — A bereaved Ugandan border town on Sunday prepared to bury victims of a brutal attack by suspected extremist rebels on a school that left 42 dead, most of them students, as security forces stepped up patrols along the frontier with volatile eastern Congo. One of eight people wounded in Friday night’s attack, in which 38 students were killed, died overnight, said Mpondwe-Lhubiriha Mayor Selevest Mapoze. “Most of the relatives have come to take their bodies” from the morgue, he said. Some students were burned beyond recognition, and others were shot or hacked to death after militants armed with guns and machetes attacked Lhubiriha Secondary School, co-ed and privately owned, which is located about 2 kilometers (just over a mile) from the Congo border. Ugandan authorities believe at least six students were abducted, taken as porters back inside Congo. In addition to the 38 students, the victims include a school guard and three civilians.U.N. Secretary-Genera...

1 dead, 20 wounded in shooting in Unincorporated Willowbrook: Police

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:11:21 GMT

UNINCOORPORATED WILLOWBROOK, Ill. -- DuPage County responded to a shooting in Unincorporated Willowbrook which sent 20 people to the hospital and left one person dead, police said. According to the Battalion Chief with the tri-state Fire protection district, at around 12:30 a.m. there was a shooting reported near Route 83 and Honeysuckle Rose Lane.The DuPage County Sherrif confirmed that 20 people were injured with gunshot wounds. Fire officials said two victims are in critical condition. Fire also said officers applied a handful of tourniquets at the scene to the people who were wounded. Multiple shot near Lincoln Park Zoo: Chicago Police Witnesses described the scene as chaotic with people running as gunfire erupted. A motive behind the shooting is still unclear.WGN is actively investigating the incident and will update as new information is released.

White Bear Lake tattoo shop owner talked about buying and selling body parts before indictment

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:11:21 GMT

The owner of a White Bear Lake tattoo parlor charged this week in connection with a cross-country scheme to buy and sell stolen body parts was open about his collection in online posts before his indictment.Matthew R. Lampi, 52, of East Bethel, was indicted this week on charges of conspiracy and interstate transport of stolen goods: human remains including brains, lungs and stillborn babies, according to court records.His attorney, Stephen Becker, said Friday night that his client has not pleaded in the case and he had no statement to make regarding the allegations.Matthew Lampi, the owner of a White Bear Lake tattoo parlor, was charged June 13, 2023, in connection with a cross-country scheme to buy and sell stolen body parts. (Kristi Miller / Pioneer Press)Lampi owned Get to the Point Tattoos. Although the business license is still active, Google now shows the studio, in the Wildwood Shopping Center at 927 Wildwood Road in White Bear Lake, as “permanently closed.”In a 2...

St. Paul has five new faces at the Capitol. Here’s what they worked on.

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:11:21 GMT

St. Paul had five first-time lawmakers at the Minnesota Legislature this session, giving the city its most diverse delegation ever.It might be the groups’ first time holding elected office, but these are no political novices. All five have been working in politics most of their lives, some since they were kids.St. Paul’s newest lawmakers were in the thick of some of the most contentious and consequential issues of the legislative session that wrapped up in May.A lot of that was by design. These new lawmakers, who are all Democrats, say St. Paul’s voters want representatives that will push a progressive agenda.Historic sessionIt was a historic session by many measures. The new Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party trifecta in control of state government enacted a record $71.5 billion budget, which is a 38 percent increase, driven by a unprecedented $17.5 billion budget surplus.DFLers also passed big policy changes that had been stalled for years under divided government. Ad...

St. Paul’s reparations commission will convene this summer. What happens now?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:11:21 GMT

Four years ago, social justice advocate Trahern Crews and council member Jane Prince started talking about what racial reparations could look like in a city like St. Paul. As of January, St. Paul has a permanent Recovery Act Community Reparations Commission advising the city council and the mayor.More local governments across the country have been pursuing reparations initiatives in the past couple of years with the goal of generating wealth for American descendants of chattel slavery. Yet, St. Paul’s initiative is unique.Trahern Crews is the co-convener of the Recovery Act Community Reparations Commission in St. Paul. He is a member of the Minnesota Green Party and a leading voice for the Black Lives Matter movement. (Courtesy of Trahern Crews)“Being a permanent part of the government is what sets us apart from other reparation commissions popping up around America right now. It allows us to make short-term, medium-term and long-term suggestions,” said Crews, who is the...