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Muslim mobs attack churches in eastern Pakistan after accusing Christians of desecrating the Quran

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:35:23 GMT

MULTAN, Pakistan (AP) — Muslims in eastern Pakistan went on a rampage Wednesday over allegations that a Christian man had desecrated the Quran, demolishing the man’s house, burning churches and damaging several other homes, police and local Christians said. There were no immediate reports of casualties.The scale of the violence prompted the government to deploy additional police forces and send in the army to help restore order.The attacks in Jaranwala, in the district of Faisalabad in Punjab province, erupted after some Muslims living in the area claimed they had seen a local Christian, Raja Amir, and his friend tearing out pages from a Quran, throwing them on the ground and writing insulting remarks on other pages. Police chief Rizwan Khan said this had angered the local Muslims. A mob gathered and began attacking multiple churches and several Christian homes, burning furniture and other household items. Some members of the Christian community fled their homes to escape the mob. P...

B.C.-based Carbon Engineering being bought by Occidental for US$1.1 billion

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:35:23 GMT

CALGARY — A Canadian company that is pioneering the use of direct air capture technology to remove carbon dioxide directly from the atmosphere has been acquired by U.S. oil company Occidental Petroleum.The US$1.1-billion deal will see Squamish, B.C.-based Carbon Engineering Ltd. become a wholly owned subsidiary of Oxy Low Carbon Ventures, an Occidental company that is investing in a range of new emissions-reduction technologies.Carbon Engineering — which was founded in Calgary by Harvard professor David Keith — has already been working for years with Oxy subsidiary 1PointFive, which is aiming to commercialize the large-scale deployment of carbon capture, utilization and sequestration technology. 1PointFive is currently using Carbon Engineering’s technology to construct what it says will be the largest direct air capture project in the world, in Ector County, Texas.Unlike the more common form of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology — which captures emissions from industr...

Protesters march through Miami to object to Florida’s Black history teaching standards

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:35:23 GMT

MIAMI (AP) — Dozens of teachers, students and activists marched to a Miami school district headquarters Wednesday to protest Florida’s new standards for teaching Black history, which have come under intense criticism for what they say about slavery.The protesters who marched to the School Board of Miami-Dade County objected to new curriculum standards that, among other things, require teachers to instruct middle school students that enslaved people “developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit.”Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is seeking the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, has repeatedly defended the new language while insisting that his critics, including Vice President Kamala Harris and two leading Black Republicans in Congress, are intentionally misinterpreting one line of the sweeping curriculum.“These new state standards that DeSantis has come up with will not be tolerated in our schools. We will not let our children be taught that slaves benef...

England moves into the Women’s World Cup final against Spain after ending Australia’s run

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:35:23 GMT

SYDNEY (AP) — Lauren Hemp didn’t let the Women’s World Cup semifinal match between Australia and England become the Sam Kerr show. Hemp scored to restore England’s lead eight minutes after a superb equalizer from Kerr, and then provided a perfect pass for the clincher as the Lionesses moved into their first World Cup championship game with a 3-1 victory over Australia on Wednesday.The semifinal outcome ended a Matildas run that captivated Australia for almost a month and sent England to a matchup with Spain in the final, where the Lionesses will have a chance to bring a World Cup home for the first time since 1966.Sarina Wiegman became the first coach to lead two countries to the Women’s World Cup final, and in back-to-back tournaments. Her run with the Netherlands in 2019 ended with a loss to the United States.On either side of that, she guided Netherlands to the European title in 2017 and then took over the England squad for its breakthrough Euro 2022 title.“I’m ...

US military’s aerial reconnaissance pictures of England during WWII go online for the first time

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:35:23 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Way before Google Earth, there was photo reconnaissance by the U.S. Army Air Forces.During World War II, specifically in 1943 and 1944, reconnaissance units of the USAAF — the predecessor to the U.S. Air Force — captured photos of the changing face of England, primarily around the American bases in the south of the country. More than 3,600 of their black and white images were made available Wednesday in a free online, searchable map through the archive of Historic England, a public body that seeks to champion England’s history and environment. From showing U.S. military personnel playing baseball to ancient monuments surrounded by anti-tank defenses, the collection gives a bird’s-eye view of the impact of the war on England and the training that was necessary ahead of bombing and reconnaissance missions over Nazi-occupied Europe.Unsurprisingly, the dozens of new airfields that were built by U.S. forces feature heavily, as do the military camps and storage facilit...

At least 2 injured during shooting outside funeral home on South Side: fire officials

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:35:23 GMT

CHICAGO — At least two people were injured during a shooting outside a funeral home on the city's South Side, according to fire officials.The shooting happened just after 10:30 a.m. Wednesday outside Leak and Sons Funeral Home, located at 7838 S. Cottage Grove Avenue in the Greater Grand Crossing neighborhood.Officials said two gunshot victims were transported to area hospitals. One person was transported in critical condition with gunshot wounds to the University of Chicago Medical Center, another was transported to St. Bernard Hospital with a leg injury sustained while moving through a crowd when the shooting occurred. A third victim may have self transported to a hospital, according to officials. Bond set at $5M for 16-year-old accused in fatal shooting of teen in Highland Park The age and genders of the victims have not yet been released. The circumstances surrounding the shooting are unknown at this time.This is a developing story. Check back for details.

Biden to travel to Maui next week in aftermath of catastrophic wildfires

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:35:23 GMT

(The Hill) – President Biden will travel to Maui next week to meet with first responders and tour damage from catastrophic wildfires on the island, the White House announced Wednesday."In Maui, the President and First Lady will be welcomed by state and local leaders to see firsthand the impacts of the wildfires and the devastating loss of life and land that has occurred on the island, as well as discuss the next steps in the recovery effort," press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement. Maui faces power cuts, poor cell service as teams work to find and ID the dead The death toll from the wildfires has topped 100 and is expected to rise, according to local officials. Homes and businesses across the island were destroyed, and witnesses have described watching people flee into the ocean to try to escape the flames.“The President continues to marshal a whole-of-government response to the deadly Maui fires, and he has committed to delivering everything that the people of Ha...

1.5 million dehumidifiers recalled over fire risk

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:35:23 GMT

(WHTM) - More than 1 million dehumidifiers are being recalled after 23 fires were reported.According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the recall impacts 42 models of dehumidifiers with the brand names Kenmore, GE, SoleusAir, Norpole and Seabreeze. They were manufactured between January 2011 and February 2014. Approximately 1,560,000 units are impacted by the recall.The CPSC says there have been 688 incidents of overheating and $168,000 in property damage connected to the dehumidifiers. The brand name and pint capacity are printed on the back, front or side of the unit and the model number is on a sticker. The dehumidifiers are white, beige, gray or black plastic.KenmoreModel numberCapacity407.5353031030-pint407.5355031050-pint407.5357031070-pint407.5357131070-pintGEModel numberCapacityADEH50LPQ150-pintADEH50LQQ150-pintADEH50LRL150-pintADEL30LRQ130-pintADEL50LRL150-pintADEL70LRL170-pintADER30LPQ130-pintADER30LQQ130-pintADER40LPQ140-pintADER40LQQ140-pintADER50LPQ150-pintADER...

Del Valle ISD joins lawsuit against Texas Education Agency over changes to accountability rating system

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:35:23 GMT

Editor's Note: The video above shows KXAN Live's top headlines for Aug. 16, 2023DEL VALLE, Texas (KXAN) -- The Del Valle Independent School District Board of Trustees voted during its meeting Tuesday night to join a "coalition of school districts" across Texas suing the Texas Education Agency over changes to its accountability ratings system. DVISD Superintendent Dr. Annette Tielle wrote in a letter sent to families and staff Wednesday morning the Board unanimously voted to join the lawsuit, which is aimed at halting TEA's planned “refresh” of the Texas State Accountability System, the rating system that assigns letter grades to campuses and districts. KXAN has reached out to the TEA and will update this story when we receive a response. TEA refreshing ‘A-F’ accountability rating system Tielle said in the letter the district has "tirelessly worked to improve student outcomes, and we are so proud of the amazing progress we are making." "This pride is a reflection of the hard work f...

Tracking the Tropics: NHC monitoring 3 disturbances as peak hurricane season nears

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:35:23 GMT

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — The National Hurricane Center is monitoring three tropical waves that are spread across the Atlantic basin. With conditions ideal for some development, are these the storms the east coast has been preparing for?So far, the NHC has said two of the three disturbances pose a nearly 50% chance of forming sometime in the next seven days. With those odds steadily increasing over the past few days, it's worth stressing how things can change as we near the most historically active period in the Atlantic hurricane season.The first of the three waves, which is currently centered about 750 miles west-southwest of the Cabo Verde Islands, is expected to develop slightly over the next seven days. The NHC said a tropical depression is possible as it moves west across the central tropical Atlantic.A second wave moving off the west coast of Africa is also forecast to strengthen slightly before environmental conditions become unfavorable early next week.A tropical depression coul...