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China praises Putin’s leadership, calls for stability in Russia

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:26:41 GMT

China moved to bolster Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday — praising his “strategic guidance” and calling for stability — but not until the dust had settled over a short-lived mutiny challenging his rule. Beijing sat silently throughout Saturday as the mercenary Wagner Group seized the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don and moved to storm Moscow with demands for military leadership changes from Putin. Western governments, meanwhile, were issuing concerned statements assuring they were monitoring the fast-evolving situation in Russia.It was only well after the Russian leader reached a deal late Saturday with Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin and ended the military rebellion that Beijing spoke out.“This is a matter of Russia’s domestic affairs,” the Foreign Ministry in Beijing said in a statement on Sunday. “China supports Russia in safeguarding national stability and delivering development and prosperity.”Hosting Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Ru...

5-car crash in Nashua caused by wrong-way driver, sent five to hospital

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:26:41 GMT

A wrong-way driver allegedly caused a 5-car crash Saturday night that sent five people to local hospitals.Around 10:42 p.m., the wrong-way driver was headed down F.E. Everett Turnpike Southbound near Exit 7. Nashua Fire Rescue reported five vehicles involved, including “one ejection.”Additional ambulances had to be called to the scene, Nashua Fire Rescue announced. Two patients were transported to Southern New Hampshire Medical Center and three were sent to St. Joseph’s Hospital.NH State police said the investigation is ongoing.

Trooper injured, hospitalized after roadside crash near Canton

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:26:41 GMT

Overnight traffic on Route-93 was restricted to single lane after a Massachusetts State Trooper was injured while responding to a crash.According to the state police, an unnamed trooper assigned to the Milton Barracks was responding to a crash between exits 3 and 4 when a “secondary crash” occurred, injuring the officer.“The Trooper was standing outside his cruiser, in the process of investigating the initial crash, when he was struck by the approaching vehicle. The driver of that vehicle was transported to a local hospital with non life threatening injuries,” a state police spokesman wrote in a release.The trooper was transported to a Boston hospital where he remains in stable but serious condition. His family and other troopers are by his side, according to the spokesperson.“This incident serves as a reminder of the dangers law enforcement officers face every time they leave home and assume their role as public safety professionals,” State Police Colonel John Mawn Jr. said i...

Two people died and 12 were hurt in a shooting at a street party that was promoted on social media

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:26:41 GMT

SAGINAW, Mich. (AP) — A 51-year-old woman and a 19-year-old man were slain and a dozen others wounded during a shooting at a large street party in Michigan that was promoted on social media.The shooting occurred around midnight Saturday in Saginaw, about 102 miles (164 kilometers) northwest of Detroit, state police said.Police initially said about 200 people were in the area of the party and that officers had been dispersing the crowd prior to the shooting, MLive.com reported.Three people also were struck by cars and injured as people quickly fled from the gunshots, WNEM-TV reported. Investigators determined five different guns had been fired in the shooting.No arrests were made.The Associated Press

Police seeking two women wanted in arson investigation in Warden and St. Clair area

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:26:41 GMT

Toronto police are looking for two women wanted in an arson investigation in the Warden Avenue and St. Clair Avenue East area.On June 18 at approximately 2:50 a.m., two women allegedly entered an apartment building in the area and got onto an elevator in the lobby.One woman was carrying a gas can, and when the two women got off the elevator, they set fire to a door of an apartment unit.The suspects fled the building in a 2016 black Lincoln MKC, with an Ontario license plate CYEW 284.There were two occupants in the unit at the time of the fire but no one was injured. Through investigation the two women have been identified.Andrea Jameer, 34 and Dustina Perez, 23, of Toronto, are wanted for arson, arson endangering life, possession of incendiary material for arson, mischief over $5000, mischief endangering life, dangerous weapons and disguise with intent.Jameer is described as female, 5’7″, 170lbs, heavy build, with black hair and brown eyes. She was wearing a black tank t...

Poor air quality warnings issued in three provinces as number of fires increase

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:26:41 GMT

OTTAWA — Smoky, dangerous air is settling over parts of western Quebec and eastern Ontario this morning and the number of forest fires burning across Canada is creeping higher once again.The Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre says there are 465 fires burning across the country, including 240 that are out of control.That’s up from 420 fires burning one week ago, largely due to an increase in fires in Alberta and Ontario.Nearly 72,000 square kilometres of forest land has burned this year so far, an area nearly four times the size of Lake Ontario.Residents in Ottawa and its Quebec twin city of Gatineau are being advised to avoid or severely limit outdoor activities today as the air quality index hit the very high risk marker again.Environment Canada also says there will be dangerously poor air quality today in Montreal, Québec City, Laval and Trois-Rivières in Quebec and in Winnipeg and Flin Flon in Manitoba.This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 25, 2023...

US Navy: Hefty salvage system not required in probe of fatal Titan implosion

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:26:41 GMT

The U.S. Navy said Sunday that it won’t be using a large piece of salvage equipment that it had deployed to the effort to retrieve the Titan submersible.The Flyaway Deep Ocean Salvage System had the capability of lifting an intact Titan back to the surface. The U.S. Coast Guard announced on Thursday that debris from the submersible had been found roughly 1,600 feet (488 meters) from the Titanic in North Atlantic waters. The Titan submersible imploded on its way to tour the Titanic wreckage, killing all five on board. Debris was located about 12,500 feet (3,810 meters) underwater.The Navy would only use the ocean salvage system if there were pieces large enough to require the use of the specialized equipment.“Efforts are focused on helping map the debris field in preparation for recovery efforts and to support investigative actions. Efforts to mobilize equipment such as the Flyaway Deep Ocean Salvage System have been discontinued,” a Navy official told The Associated Press.The ...

Salman Rushdie and Cheryl Strayed among endorsers of anti-censorship initiative

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:26:41 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Salman Rushdie, Cheryl Strayed, Carl Hiassen and Ibram X. Kendi are among hundreds of authors who have endorsed an announcement by the American Library Association and the Association of American Publishers that calls attention to the 70th anniversary of a Freedom to Read Statement issued by book publishers and librarians during the height of the McCarthy era. With book bannings surging nationwide over the past two years, the library and publishing associations are urging “all members of the book community” to affirm their commitment to the June 1953 declaration, which includes such propositions as ”It is in the public interest for publishers and librarians to make available the widest diversity of views and expressions, including those that are unorthodox, unpopular, or considered dangerous by the majority.” Sunday’s press announcement reads in part: “Today, as we grapple with a new wave of censorship in schools, libraries, and bookstores targeting...

One dead, several injured after riders plunged from a roller coaster in Sweden

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:26:41 GMT

STOCKHOLM (AP) — One person was killed and several others injured when a roller coaster derailed in Stockholm on Sunday, Swedish TV reported.Park officials told public broadcaster SVT that one of the carriages on the Jetline rollercoaster derailed and people fell to the ground at the Grona Lund amusement park.“It is incredibly tragic and shocking,” park spokeswoman Annika Troselius told SVT. “Unfortunately we have been informed that one person is killed and many are injured.”Police said seven people, both children and adults, were hospitalized. Man who gave up seats on Titan submersible says OceanGate CEO was ‘dismissive’ of concerns The amusement park was evacuated to facilitate the work of rescue crews.SVT reporter Jenny Lagerstedt, who was standing in line for another ride, said the carriage was at a high altitude.“Suddenly I heard a metallic thud and then the rides started to shake,” she said. Rescuers had to remove other passengers who were stuck in other carriages on the rol...

Marcella's final Weekend Break: Gene's Sausage Shop & Delicatessen

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:26:41 GMT

Check out marcella's final weekend break at Gene's sausage shop & Delicatessen.Love the WGN Morning News? We love you, too. And you can have all the hijinks delivered to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign up and subscribe to our WGN Morning News newsletter.