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Finland: Undersea pipelines damaged by ‘external activity’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:10 GMT

By Jari Tanner | Associated PressHELSINKI — Damage to an undersea gas pipeline and telecommunications cable connecting Finland and Estonia appears to have been caused by “external activity,” Finnish officials said Tuesday, adding that authorities were investigating.Finnish and Estonian gas system operators on Sunday said they noted an unusual drop in pressure in the Balticconnector pipeline after which they shut down the gas flow.The Finnish government on Tuesday said there was damage both to the gas pipeline and to a telecommunications cable between the two NATO countries.Speaking at a news conference Tuesday, Prime Minister Petteri Orpo stopped short of calling the pipeline leak sabotage but said it could not have been caused by regular operations.“According to a preliminary assessment, the observed damage could not have occurred as a result of normal use of the pipe or pressure fluctuations. It is likely that the damage is the result of external activity,”...

Biden confirms Americans among those held hostage by Hamas

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:10 GMT

President Biden on Tuesday confirmed that American citizens are among those being held hostage by Hamas in the wake of an unprecedented coordinated attack by the militant group over the weekend that killed thousands of people in Israel.The president also said in remarks at the White House that the number of Americans killed in the attacks had risen to 14.“We now know that American citizens are among those being held by Hamas,” Biden said.“I’ve directed my team to share intelligence and deploy additional experts from across the United States government to consult with and advise Israeli counterparts on hostage recovery efforts,” he said. “Because as president, I have no higher priority than the safety of Americans being held hostage around the world.”U.S. officials had previously warned that it was likely that Americans are among those being held by Hamas but were working on Monday to confirm. John Kirby, a White House spokesperson on national security issues, told reporters on a cal...

Video: 5 suspects steal $50k in Gucci merch from San Jose store, 1 arrested

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:10 GMT

(KRON) -- Five masked suspects are shown on surveillance video shoving past a Gucci store security guard at Valley Fair Mall on Oct. 5 before running off with approximately $50,000 worth of purses and merchandise, according to the San Jose Police Department.Reserve officers with San Jose PD working at the mall responded to the call of an organized retail theft in progress. One of the suspects attacked an officer as they were being detained, SJPD said.Watch the surveillance video in the player above.With the assistance of mall security, the reserve officer took the suspect into custody. The remaining four suspects fled the area before additional police officers arrived, police said. Detectives with San Jose police’s Robbery Unit are investigating the video footage and other evidence to identify the other suspects. Good Samaritan shot by Oakland robbers: police Police identified the suspect in custody as Shawn Pruitt of Henderson, Nev., who had an active warrant out for his arrest. ...

NCAA President Charlie Baker to testify during Senate hearing on college sports next week

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:10 GMT

NCAA President Charlie Baker is expected to testify in front of a Senate committee next week during the 10th hearing on Capitol Hill over the last three years on college sports.The Senate Judiciary Committee announced it has scheduled a hearing on Name, Image and Likeness, and the Future of College Sports for next Tuesday.Baker, the former governor of Massachusetts, took over as NCAA president in March and has been spending a lot of time in Washington lobbying lawmakers to help college sports with a federal law to regulate how athletes can be compensated for their fame.Several bills have been introduced by federal lawmakers lately, including two bipartisan efforts from the senate, but still there has been little movement toward serious action on a issue that has been a topic of conversation since the summer of 2020.“I do get worried about Congress micromanaging the rules of endorsement deals or transfer portals or compensation,” Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., told members of the athlet...

Canadian auto workers, GM reach tentative contract agreement, ending strike that began at midnight

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:10 GMT

TORONTO (AP) — General Motors and the union representing Canadian auto workers have reached a tentative contract agreement, ending a strike that began just after midnight.About 4,300 striking workers at two GM factories and a parts warehouse will return to work Tuesday afternoon and will vote on the three-year deal later.Lana Payne, president of the Unifor union, says in a statement that when faced with the strike, GM had no choice but to follow a pattern agreement reached earlier with Ford. She says the deal includes “all items that the company had initially fought us on such as pensions, retiree income supports and converting full-time temporary workers into permanent employees over the life of the agreement. GM said in a statement that it reached the agreement with Unifor around 1 p.m. Tuesday after workers went on strike at the Ontario facilities just after midnight. The record deal recognizes employee contributions with significant pay and benefit increases and additional...

Woman killed in Laurel parking lot shooting

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:10 GMT

A woman was fatally shot in a parking in Laurel, Maryland, on Monday morning, police said.The Laurel Police Department was called to 14120 West Side Blvd. shortly before 5 a.m. on Monday for reports of a shooting.Police said that they found a person who was “suffering from gunshot wounds” in the parking lot.The woman died from her injuries, police said.Police are asking anyone with any information or anyone who may have witnessed the shooting to contact the Laurel Police Department at 301-498-0092. Anonymous tips can also be sent to [email protected] a map of the shooting location below: WTOP has reached out to police for further details about the shooting. Source

Bowie State cancels classes for rest of week following homecoming shooting

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:10 GMT

Bowie State University, June 5, 2017. Photo by Evelyn Hockstein/For The Washington Post via Getty Images)(The Washington Post via Getty Im/The Washington Post) Bowie State University, June 5, 2017. Photo by Evelyn Hockstein/For The Washington Post via Getty Images)(The Washington Post via Getty Im/The Washington Post) Officials in Bowie State University in Prince George’s County, Maryland, have canceled classes for the rest of the week following the shooting the happened on campus over homecoming weekend.The university said classes for the rest of the week are canceled to “provide additional time for everyone to address their mental well-being,” the university said in a statement. “We encou...

Victim killed by falling mast on Maine schooner carrying tourists was a doctor

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:10 GMT

ROCKLAND, Maine (AP) — A woman killed when a mast snapped and toppled onto the deck of a historic sailing vessel that carries tourists off the Maine coast was a physician at the hospital where three other victims were taken for treatment, officials said Tuesday.Dr. Emily Mecklenburg, 40, of Rockland, was declared dead Monday after she was evacuated from the stricken vessel Grace Bailey by the Coast Guard, Nicole Jacques, a spokesperson for owners of the schooner, said Tuesday. Three others who were injured were taken to PenBay Medical Center in Rockport where Mecklenburg worked, officials said.The Coast Guard is investigating why the schooner’s main mast snapped in conditions that were not windy. The schooner was about 1 mile (1.6 kilometers) east of Rockland harbor, the Coast Guard said.There’s no timeline for the investigation, which could take weeks or months.“We want to make sure the investigation is being done thoroughly and that the necessary boxes are being checke...

El huracán Lidia se fortalece a categoría 2

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:10 GMT

(CNN Español) — El Servicio Meteorológico Nacional (SMN) de México informó que el huracán Lidia subió en la mañana de este martes a categoría 2 en la escala Saffir-Simpson.El SMN agregó que los estados que se verán impactados por lluvias torrenciales serán Nayarit, Guerrero, Jalisco, Colima y Michoacán, ubicados en el occidente del país.¿Qué ciudades están amenazadas por el huracán Lidia y cuándo llegaría a México?¿Dónde y cuándo va a tocar tierra la tormenta tropical Lidia?También se prevén lluvias “puntuales intensas en Sinaloa y Durango, así como lluvias puntuales muy fuertes en Baja California Sur, Zacatecas, Aguascalientes y Guanajuato”, indica el más reciente aviso sobre el huracán Lidia del SMN.Los vientos máximos sostenidos llegan a los 155 kilómetros por hora, con rachas de hasta 195 km/h, según el último aviso del SMN.Según las autoridades, de seguir su trayectoria, el huracán tocaría tierra durante la tarde o noche de este martes entre Nayarit y Jalisco....

Braves hold off again on announcing starting pitcher for Game 3 of NLDS vs Phillies

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:10 GMT

As the Atlanta Braves boarded the plane for Philadelphia on Tuesday, they remained mum on their starting pitcher for Game 3 of the NL Division Series against the Phillies.Unless the team goes with an opener out of the bullpen on Wednesday — which manager Brian Snitker said is an option — it appears either 12-game winner Bryce Elder or 20-year-old rookie AJ Smith-Shawver will get the nod against Aaron Nola.Elder, a first-time All-Star and mainstay of the injury-plagued rotation nearly the entire season, would seem the most logical choice.But he appeared to tire down the stretch after throwing a career-high 174 2/3 innings, opening the door for Smith-Shawver — who has just six MLB appearances with five starts — to take the mound with the best-of-five series tied at one game apiece.“We’ve got some options,” Snitker said. “Do we want to do an opener? Who would follow if we decide to do that? Or do we want to just go the traditional route? There’s just a lot of different scen...