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Drivers given assurances about safety at Saudi Arabian GP

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:22:10 GMT

Formula One is back in Saudi Arabia this weekend, one year after a missile strike hit an oil depot near the track during race week.And while the drivers expressed confidence in their safety ahead of Sunday’s race, seven-time F1 champion Lewis Hamilton again broached the subject of human rights issues in the kingdom.Drivers have been given assurances by F1 that increased safety measures will prevent the race from being impacted like last year, when Houthi rebels from Yemen hit a depot only 11 kilometers (seven miles) away during the first practice session. The attack led to hours of talks between drivers, organizers and stakeholders but the race went ahead.The missile strike came two weeks after 81 people were put to death in Saudi Arabia in a mass execution — the largest in the kingdom’s modern history. According to Reprieve, a non-profit organization defending people facing human rights abuses, a further 16 executions were then carried out.Saudi Arabia is one of several count...

St. Patrick’s Day rites: Parades, bagpipes, clinking pints

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:22:10 GMT

Oh, Danny boy, ’tis the time of year when Irish bagpipes are calling in the concrete glens of New York City, across the swooning boughs of Savannah, Georgia, and in the halls of the White House as the U.S. celebrates St. Patrick’s Day with parades, pub crawls and a state visit.Thousands of tourists and locals alike crowded the oak-shaded squares and downtown sidewalks of Savannah on Friday. The city’s parade, a 199-year-old tradition, is the South’s largest.Veteran parade watchers arrived before dawn to claim space in the squares for picnic tables and party tents. Bars opened at 7 a.m. to greet customers already thirsty for beer and Bloody Marys.The annual parade in New York City — which bills itself as the world’s largest and oldest — drew throngs to Fifth Avenue to await bagpipes and bands, and give homage to Ireland’s patron saint.“When we march up Fifth Avenue,” New York Mayor Eric Adams said during the annual St. Patrick’s Day Breakfast...

‘Troubled’ Eby seeks CSIS briefing on alleged Chinese meddling in Vancouver election

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:22:10 GMT

VANCOUVER — British Columbia Premier David Eby says he’s “very troubled” by allegations of Chinese interference in Vancouver’s municipal elections last year and he’s asked Canada’s intelligence agency for a briefing.Eby says Canadians deserve a “thorough and independent investigation” into the claims reported in the Globe and Mail newspaper this week that China’s consulate in Vancouver meddled in the municipal polls by using diaspora community groups and grooming certain candidates.The premier says he’s asked for a “full briefing” by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service but he hasn’t received it yet.The newspaper report cites CSIS documents, but Eby says he’s not in a position to comment on their credibility.The report prompted Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim to say on Thursday that he was disgusted by its “insinuations,” and he wouldn’t be part of the conversation if he was Caucasian...

Gary Police Department overhaul: Agencies provide an update

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:22:10 GMT

GARY, Ind. — Multiple law enforcement agencies are highlighting a "violent crime reduction strategy" in Gary following what the mayor called a hard reset of the department.The Gary Police Department, Indiana State Police, Lake County Prosecutors Office, Indiana State Excise Police, and the U.S. Attorney's Office all gathered together Friday in Gary to discuss their collaboration as well as changes within the Homicide Task Force. Gary police names interim chief from ISP partnership Interim Chief of the Gary Police Department Jerry Williams described some of the changes he has helped to make within the department since taking the position on Jan. 6. His appointment followed eight months of studying the department to identify needed changes as a part of an Indiana State Police led task force.The Gary Police Department has had nearly a dozen chiefs since 2006, and it has been without a permanent police chief since 2020.Williams will hold the interim role until at least July and Gary M...

Friday Forecast: Temps in mid 30s with scattered flurries

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:22:10 GMT

The weather for Friday is looking mostly cloudy, with morning rain/snow, decreasing clouds and flurries, with gusts of 40 mph. High: 35Morning winds Interactive Radar: Track showers and storm here Friday Night: Partly cloudy, increasing clouds, flurries, near & below 0 chills, W 10-20 G30. 15Saturday's weather is mostly cloudy with a slight chance snow showers and flurries, W 10-20 G30. High: 28Full forecast details at the WGN Weather Center

Republicans from Northern Border Security caucus to address drug, human trafficking concerns

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:22:10 GMT

WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) -- Lawmakers say they are concerned about an increase in human and drug trafficking across the border between the U.S. and Canada.Rep. Mike Kelly (R-Penn.) says it's time to expand the discussion about border security."There's a lot more to the borders of the United States than just the southwestern border. We also have a northern border," Kelly said.That's why Kelly and other house republicans created the Northern Border Caucus."We have big borders but we've always kind of trusted that there's going to be oversight. The thing we're finding out now is there really not as much oversight as we need," Kelly said.Kelly says all the current attention on the southern border is opening a door for human and drug trafficking up North."I do know in those New England states, the amount of drugs coming in through that area is having an incredible effect on the lives of people," Kelly said.The U.S.-Canadian border stretches across more than 5000 miles and is more than double...

New study cites Wuhan raccoon dogs as possible origin of COVID-19

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:22:10 GMT

(The Hill) - A new analysis of genetic information conducted by an international group of researchers has found evidence to suggest that COVID-19 originated from infected animals sold at a market in Wuhan.As was first reported by The Atlantic, French evolutionary biologist Florence Débarre recently uncovered genetic data from the global virology database GISAID. The data had been submitted by Chinese researchers who collected the genetic sequences from the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market, which has been scrutinized as being the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic.Despite the name, thousands mammals were found to have been sold at the market, where they were kept in cramped and unhygienic spaces.The genetic data suggested that raccoon dogs being sold at the market could have been carrying and shedding the SARS-CoV-2 virus at the time. The analysis, which is not conclusive, is being led by researchers Kristian Andersen, Edward Holmes and Michael Worobey.In communications with Atlantic ...

Strawberries recalled over possible health risk

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:22:10 GMT

INDIANAPOLIS (WXIN) - Strawberries sold at many major stores are being recalled over a Hepatitis A outbreak.The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said two recalls were announced Thursday connected to the recall. The recalled strawberries were sold at Costco, Aldi, KeHE, Vital Choise Seafood, PCC Community Markets and Trader Joe's. The locations vary by brand, but overall impact the entirety of the United States.Photo//FDAPhoto//FDAPhoto//FDAPhoto//FDAPhoto//FDAPhoto//FDAPhoto//FDAPhoto//FDAPhoto//FDAThe recall was initiated due to an outbreak of Hepatitis A. However, Hepatitis A has not been detected on any of the recalled products. The companies are recalling them out of an abundance of caution.People usually get sick from Hepatitis A within 15-30 days of exposure. It is a contagious liver disease that can range from a mild illness lasting a few weeks to a serious illness lasting several months. Trader Joe’s fruit product recalled, potentially contaminated with Hepatitis A Sympto...

Hunter Biden files countersuit against laptop repair shop owner

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:22:10 GMT

(The Hill) – Hunter Biden filed a countersuit on Friday against the computer repairman who said he distributed the contents of a laptop that Biden left behind at his Delaware shop.The 42-page filing in federal court includes six privacy-related counts against John Paul Mac Isaac, the repairman. It takes aggressive aim at Mac Isaac, saying he violated Hunter Biden's privacy by viewing the salacious contents and then distributing them in the lead-up to the 2020 presidential election both to members of his family and an attorney for Rudy Giuliani. “Mac Isaac knowingly and willfully shared with others the personal data of Mr. Biden that he came to possess (regardless of how he came to possess the data), despite it being reckless and unreasonable for any computer repairman to make copies of another’s personal and sensitive information and to then send that data to third parties without the authority to do so,” Biden’s attorneys wrote in the filing. You should change your password now o...

More than 150,000 catalytic converters were replaced in 2022, and theft may be underreported, data suggests

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:22:10 GMT

(KTLA) – The rise in catalytic converter thefts in America has been a nuisance for law enforcement agencies and car owners for the past several years. Now, new data from Carfax shows just how bad the problem has gotten.The vehicle data company, known for tracking repairs and accidents on vehicles across the country, looked at service records to come up with an estimated number of converters needing replacement in 2022: 153,000 — a 2% increase from the year prior.Carfax says its data scientists, when looking at service records, also excluded replacements due deterioration, defectivity or recalls.The number is pretty alarming, and Carfax suggests theft — specifically — has been underreported in the past. Thieves steal Oscar Mayer Wienermobile’s catalytic converter in Las Vegas Carfax said it believes theft numbers reported to media outlets are vastly underestimating the full scope of the problem, because many car owners don't file insurance claims. The possible explanation for that ...