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Blackout-beset South Africa may delay closing coal stations

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:49:22 GMT

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — South Africa may delay shutting down many of its highly polluting coal-fired power stations, President Cyril Ramaphosa said Monday, a move that could stem a crisis of daily electricity blackouts but would slow a shift to greener energy sources.South Africa is Africa’s most developed economy but is experiencing rolling nationwide blackouts, sometimes for more than 10 hours a day, because of an electricity shortfall. The blackouts, which have become worse over the past year, have been deeply damaging to the economy and to the popularity of Ramaphosa’s government ahead of national elections next year.Under the new plan, which Ramaphosa outlined only broadly in his weekly letter to the nation, South Africa will consider a delay in the decommissioning of some of its 14 coal plants to help ease the electricity cuts, known as “load-shedding.”About 80% of South Africa’s electricity is provided by coal. The nation is the world’s 16th-largest emitte...

Ada Limón reappointed as US poet laureate

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:49:22 GMT

Ada Limón has been appointed to a second term as U.S. poet laureate and has numerous projects in the works, including a poem for NASA’s Europa Clipper mission.Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden announced Monday that Limón will serve an additional two years, instead of the traditional one-year term for poet laureates. “I am beyond honored to serve for another two years as the Poet Laureate of the United States,” Limón said in a statement. “Everywhere I have traveled during my first term, both nationally and internationally, I’ve been reminded that poetry brings people together. I am looking forward to continuing the important work of celebrating what poetry can do.”On June 1, Limón will unveil her NASA poem, to be engraved on the spacecraft scheduled to explore Europa, one of Jupiter’s moons. She is also collaborating with the National Park Service and the Poetry Society of America to present poems at national parks.Limón, who began her first term last September, has publ...

Respiratory therapist pleads guilty in deaths of 2 patients

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:49:22 GMT

CHILLICOTHE, Mo. (AP) — A former respiratory therapist has pleaded guilty in the deaths of two patients at a Missouri hospital two decades ago. Jennifer Hall, 42, initially was charged with two counts of first-degree murder but pleaded guilty instead Friday to reduced first-degree involuntary manslaughter counts in the deaths of 75-year-old Fern Franco and 37-year-old David Wesley Harper, The Kansas City Star reported. She also pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree assault.Franco and Harper were among nine patients who died at Hedrick Medical Center in Chillicothe over several months in 2002 in what charging documents describe as “medically suspicious” events.From December 2001, when Hall started working at the hospital, until she was placed on administrative leave the following May, there also were 18 cardiac arrests or “Code Blue” events, up from an average of one a year before then. The case was revived after an analysis of Franco’s tissue samples found morphine and a powe...

Don Lemon ‘stunned’ after ousting at CNN

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:49:22 GMT

(The Hill) -- CNN host Don Lemon says he has been fired by CNN.“I am stunned,” Lemon said in a message posted on Twitter on Monday, saying his agent had informed him of his firing by CNN president Chris Licht.The Hill has confirmed Lemon’s exit with CNN.Licht said in a memo to CNN workers that “CNN and Don have parted ways.”“Don will forever be a part of the CNN family, and we thank him for his contributions over the past 17 years,” Licht said. “We wish him well and will be cheering him on in his future endeavors.”In a separate statement issued on Monday, the network pushed back on Lemon’s framing of the circumstances surrounding his departure. “Don Lemon’s statement about this morning’s events is inaccurate,” the network said. “He was offered an opportunity to meet with management but instead released a statement on Twitter.” Lemon joined CNN in 2006.  Tucker Carlson, Fox News ‘mutually agreed’ to part ways The news of Lemon’s exit from the cable news channel cam...

Police arrest 24-year-old suspected of spray painting FPL pole in Miami Beach

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:49:22 GMT

Police says they busted an alleged vandal in Miami Beach. A 24-year-old man was arrested and stands accused of spray painting a Florida Power and Light pole behind the Jewish Museum on Washington Avenue.The act of vandalism caused $1,500 in damages. According to police, while the suspect took off, they found him nearby with paint stains on his fingers and shoes. He is being charged with criminal mischief.

Vegas-to-California high-speed train gets bipartisan backing

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:49:22 GMT

LAS VEGAS (AP) — A bipartisan congressional group from Nevada and California asked the Biden administration Monday to fast-track federal funds for a private company to build a high-speed rail line between Las Vegas and the Los Angeles area.All six of Nevada’s elected federal lawmakers and four House members from California said in a letter to U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg that they’re on board with a proposal from Brightline West to spend more than $10 billion to lay tracks. Trains would whisk passengers generally along the traffic-clogged Interstate 15 corridor.“This project is a major priority because it will make southern Nevada more accessible to millions of visitors each year,” said U.S. Sen. Jacky Rosen, the Nevada Democrat leading the group. “That means more people spending money at our hotels, restaurants, casinos, and small businesses and attending conventions, sports competitions, and world-class special events, which will boost our economy and c...

Bon Voyage, Mulberry & Habanero: Mystic Aquarium releases seals rehabbed at Animal Rescue Program

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:49:22 GMT

Two seals treated through the Mystic Aquarium’s Animal Rescue Program are back in the wild after bounding back into the ocean Monday morning.“Mulberry,” a 1-year-old female harp seal, and “Habanero,” a 4-month-old gray seal, were released after both completed their respective recoveries.According to the Mystic Aquarium’s Facebook page, Habanero was treated after being found on Block Island on April 6 with an entanglement around his neck. Once the entanglement was removed, the aquarium said the weanling was given antibiotics and received wound care before his release.Meanwhile, Mulberry was rescued on March 20 after she was found suffering from malnourishment and dehydration in Niantic, Conn. Through radiographs/X-rays, officials said they discovered the harp seal had sand and shells in her stomach, but that she fully recovered after receiving supportive care and an “individualized treatment plan.“Mystic Aquarium is proud to give both s...

Two Utah homes slide off cliff, prompting evacuation

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:49:22 GMT

(CNN) — Two empty homes overlooking a canyon slid off their foundations Saturday in Draper, Utah, prompting the evacuations of two adjacent residences, officials said Saturday.In October, city building officials declared two clifftop homes “unfit for human habitation” due to “earth shifting that resulted in sliding and breaks in the homes’ foundations,” city officials said in a Facebook post.The city had been following up with the developer for months on engineering studies regarding the stability of the area, officials said.“With the snow pack melting and creating changes in conditions, other homes in the neighborhood will be evaluated for safety concerns,” said the Facebook post. “At this time, only the two adjacent homes are being evacuated.”Draper officials closed two public trails following the slide.“Everyone needs to avoid the area. Do not go to the neighborhood where the homes slid. Only residents allowed...

Healey hires state’s first ever transportation safety chief

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:49:22 GMT

Gov. Maura Healey began the week by following through on a longstanding campaign promise, announcing Monday morning she had found a seasoned hand to lead the state’s transportation safety initiatives.“Pat Lavin is a dedicated public transportation expert who shares our administration’s commitment to improving safety and reliability across our transportation system, including the MBTA,” Healey said in a written statement. “We created this position to ensure we had a senior official coordinating efforts across all modes of transportation and driving strategies across the system to improve safety for riders and workers.”According to Healey’s staff, Lavin will begin his $ 325,000-a-year job as MassDOT Chief Safety Officer on May 8 and comes into the newly created role with over 40 years of experience working in transit.Lavin has been serving as director of safety at K & J Safety and Security Consulting Services since 2019 and was chief safety officer for the Washington Metropolitan ...

McCaughey: Tuberculosis next immigration worry

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:49:22 GMT

Ready for another pandemic? New York City’s health commissioner announced last week that the influx of migrants from the southern border — more than 50,000 to New York City alone in the past year — is delivering contagious diseases, including tuberculosis and polio, to our neighborhoods.The same disease threats are also endangering other migrant destinations, including California, Texas and Florida.In a letter to physicians and health care administrators citywide, Commissioner Ashwan Vasan explained that “many people who recently arrived in NYC have lived in or traveled through countries with high rates of TB.”TB, short for tuberculosis, is a bacterial infection. It is treatable with antibiotics, but it generally takes six to nine months of medication to recover. Not a walk in the park.TB spreads through the air, like flu or a cold. Stand next to someone with TB for a long subway ride or sit next to them every day at school and you can catch it.New York City’...