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Light rain arrives in Nova Scotia as two major wildfires burn out of control

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 22:59:58 GMT

HALIFAX — Scattered showers are moving across parts of Nova Scotia this morning, providing some relief to a province still struggling with its worst wildfire season on record.The forecast is calling for steady rain tonight and into Saturday, but two major wildfires continue to burn out of control — one northwest of downtown Halifax and another larger fire in the southwestern corner of the province.As of today, more that 21,000 people have been forced to leave their homes by evacuation orders — 16,000 in suburban Halifax and 6,700 in Shelburne County, which is about half of the municipality’s population.By Thursday night, 50 per cent of the Halifax-area fire had been contained, but the Barrington Lake fire continued to grow, reaching 200 square kilometres — the largest recorded wildfire in the province’s history.About 200 structures, including 151 homes, have been destroyed in the Halifax area, and another 50 homes and cottages have been consumed by the Barrington Lake fi...

From Jordan, Jill Biden arrives in Cairo as part of Mideast tour aiming to empower women, youth

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 22:59:58 GMT

CAIRO (AP) — Jill Biden arrived in Cairo on Friday, on the second leg of her six-day trip across the Middle East, North Africa and Europe that seeks to empower women and promote education for young people.The first lady arrived in the Egyptian capital from Amman, Jordan, where she attended the wedding of Crown Prince Hussein and Saudi architect Rajwa Alsei f on Thursday. She is traveling to Morocco on Saturday before heading to Portugal, the final stop of her tour, on Monday. The nuptials in Jordan drew a star-studded list — headlined by Britain’s Prince William and his wife Kate — but also held deep significance for the region, emphasizing continuity in an Arab state prized for its longstanding stability. Egypt is one of the largest recipients in the Mideast of American economic and military aid and a longstanding U.S. ally. However, in recent years, U.S. lawmakers have sought to condition that aid on human rights improvements and reforms.Biden was greeted on the tarmac by Entissar...

UN warns of aid shortage, looming food crisis in wake of devastating cyclone that hit Myanmar

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 22:59:58 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — The United Nations warned Friday that far too little aid is reaching cyclone-hit areas of Myanmar and the country could face a major food crisis soon if farmers are unable to plant crops.Cyclone Mocha struck the western state of Rakhine and nearby regions last month, killing hundreds of people and damaging thousands of dwellings. “The devastation is truly immense,” said Titon Mitra, a U.N. representative in Yangon, Myanmar’s biggest city. Strong winds “twisted telecom towers, snapped concrete poles in half and uprooted even 100-year-old trees,” he said.An estimated 700,000 homes have been damaged and rains, combined with storm surges, have wreaked havoc on the agricultural and fisheries sector, according to the U.N. Among those hardest hit are members of the Rohingya minority who have been living in crowded displacement camps since losing their homes in a brutal 2017 counterinsurgency campaign led by Myanmar security forces. Adding to this the U.N. is concerned a...

Young Kabuki actor’s debut breaks Japanese theater traditions

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 22:59:58 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — Ten-year-old Maholo Terajima Ghnassia loves watching anime and playing baseball. He likes making beats and whisper ASMR. And he’s breaking conventions in Japan’s 420-year-old Kabuki theater tradition.In Kabuki, all the roles are played by men, including beautiful princesses — a role Maholo accomplishes stunningly in his official stage debut as Maholo Onoe at the Kabuki Theater in downtown Tokyo. In the performance, which ran May 2 through 27 to full audiences, he starts out disguised as a woman, dancing gracefully, before transforming into sword-wielding warrior Iwami Jutaro. He then makes a quick costume change right there on the stage, all while delivering singsong lines in a clear resonating voice unaided by a microphone. Out to avenge his father’s death, striking spectacular poses, Maholo performs swashbuckling fight scenes and slays a furry baboon. “I like ‘tachimawari’ (fight scenes). It feels good, and people who are watching it think it’s cool,” said...

14-year-old killed, 4 wounded after shooting involving police on South Side; 1 in custody

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 22:59:58 GMT

CHICAGO — A 14-year-old boy was killed in a shooting that left four others wounded, including the alleged suspect on the city's South Side. Three police officers were also injured and hospitalized for observation.According to a preliminary police statement, a group of offenders with guns fired shots towards another group in the 4200 block of South Wells around 8:20 p.m. Thursday.Police officers responding to a ShotSpotter alert at the location and found multiple wounded people on the ground and a man with a gun. According to police, the armed man fired shots in the direction of the officers.Police said an officer returned fire and the man fled the scene. He was caught and taken into custody a short time later. The man had a gunshot wound to the leg but it is unclear at this time how he was shot.A 14-year-old was killed and four others, including the alleged suspect, were injured.A 14-year-old boy was shot in the chest and was transported to the University of Chicago Medical Center w...

Friday Forecast: Temps in low 90s with isolated showers and storms

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 22:59:58 GMT

Friday: Mostly sunny, isolated shower/storm, ENE 5-10. High: 91, Low: 85Friday Night: Mostly clear, NE 5-10. 65Chicago Weather | Tom Skilling and the WGN Weather Center's Forecast (wgntv.com)Saturday: Mostly sunny, NE 5-10 G15. High: 88, Low: 82

Nearly 1 in 10 adults around the globe identify as LGBTQ: survey

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 22:59:58 GMT

(The Hill) -- About 9 percent of adults from around the world identify themselves as LGBTQ, according to a global survey released Thursday.  The survey conducted by Ipsos found that 3 percent of those around the world identify themselves as lesbian or gay, 4 percent as bisexual, 0.9 percent as pansexual and 0.9 percent as asexual. The survey noted that those in Generation Z — people born after 1997 — were more than twice as likely to identify as bisexual, pansexual or asexual than millennials and more than four times as likely than those in Generation X and baby boomers.  Across 30 different countries surveyed, those identifying as LGBTQ range from 4 percent in Peru to 15 percent in Brazil. About 9 percent of survey respondents in the United States identified as LGBTQ, a 1 percent drop since 2021.  Spain is the country with the highest share of those saying they are gay or lesbian at 6 percent, and Brazil and the Netherlands were most likely to say they are bisexual at 7 p...

Parents concerned about intersection near northeast Austin school

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 22:59:58 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Aisha Milburn lives just a short distance from where her two children go to elementary school. It's a five minute walk to Bluebonnet Trail Elementary, but you will never see her two kids walking to school. That's because Milburn believes the intersection that separates her neighborhood from the school is extremely unsafe. "It's extremely worrisome. I can't even consider it," Milburn said. What's wrong with the intersection?Less than half a mile from Bluebonnet Trail Elementary is the intersection of Farmhaven Road and Harris Branch Parkway, a four-way stop that sees heavy amounts of traffic. Milburn said drivers will speed in the school zone, run stop signs, and fail to see pedestrians in the crosswalk. Even during an interview with KXAN, there were three close calls where drivers had to slam on the brakes to avoid a collision. "There have been many times where people just blow through and realize somebody is coming on Farmhaven and slam to a stop," Milburn explaine...

How does cryptocurrency mining affect the Texas power grid?

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 22:59:58 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) – Everything is bigger in Texas, including cryptocurrency mining operations. Texas is currently home to the largest cryptocurrency mining facility in North America and, of all the facilities in the state, accounts for about 15% of mining worldwide, according to researchers.  NEXT: This one thing could prevent El Niño forming Attached to these mining operations is a Texas-sized use of power. In order to “mine” for cryptocurrency, computers must run computation algorithms to verify transactions. The computers that solve an algorithm get a “reward” in the form of cryptocurrency – such as Bitcoin – according to the Texas Comptroller. The more calculations a computer can solve, the higher the chance of receiving the reward, per the Texas Comptroller. “In a nutshell, it is an extremely energy-intensive process to mine a Bitcoin. That is why the scale of these computing demands has reached the point that they can rival the consumption of a city’s worth of electricity,”...

Travis County Parks Foundation hosting kickoff event this weekend

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 22:59:58 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — There’s a newly-formed foundation aimed at enhancing the outdoor experience at all Travis County Parks.On Saturday afternoon, the Travis County Parks Foundation will host an inaugural event at Richard Moya Park along Onion Creek in East Austin.‘For the Love of Parks’ is free for anyone to attend, as it’ll celebrate the start of the new nonprofit.The kickoff event will include a petting zoo, food trucks, disc golf along with a musical performance from Austin-based Latin rock band Del Castillo.Travis County Parks Foundation executive director Joanna Wolaver says her goal is to raise support for parks through outreach, advocacy and education.“There are 27 parks spread out over 11,000 acres in Travis County. It's a large system,” she explained. “We're really excited to partner with the Travis County Parks staff, to increase opportunities for programming.”Travis County Commissioner Margaret Gómez plans to be at the event on Saturday afternoon.“It's very important they got...