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Australia’s most powerful cyclone in 12 years to cross coast

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:17:49 GMT

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — A tropical cyclone nearing Australia is forecast to be the most powerful storm in 12 years to hit the country, bringing wind gusts of up to 315 kilometers (196 miles) per hour as it crosses the northwest coast, meteorologists said Thursday.Cyclones are common along the sparsely populated Pilbara coast of Western Australia state and fatalities are rare, but authorities fear that Cyclone Ilsa’s extraordinary wind speeds could take some in its path by surprise.Ilsa reached the highest Category 5 intensity Thursday over the Indian Ocean and is expected to maintain that destructive level as it crosses the Pilbara coast by early Friday, Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology said.Category 5 cyclones have mean wind speeds exceeding 200 kph (124 mph) with gusts exceeding 280 kph (174 mph). They typically cause widespread destruction, the bureau said. The last Category 5 storm to cross the Australian coast was Cyclone Yasi in 2011. Yasi caused hundreds of millions of do...

Doctors: Italy’s Berlusconi continues to improve in ICU

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:17:49 GMT

ROME (AP) — Doctors caring for former Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi reported a further “constant improvement” in his condition Thursday as he receives treatment for a lung infection and apparent kidney problems caused by chronic leukemia.The 86-year-old remained in intensive care at Milan’s San Raffaele clinic, where he was admitted April 5 with breathing problems. After his hospitalization, Berlusconi’s longtime physician, Dr. Alberto Zangrillo, revealed the former three-time premier had been dealing with chronic leukemia for some time and was being treated for a related lung infection.Zangrillo and oncologist Dr. Fabio Circeri reported Thursday that Berlusconi experienced “a further constant improvement in the respiratory and renal functioning” over the previous 72 hours. The treatment had helped to contain inflammation and a high number of white blood cells, the doctors said. An elevated white blood cell count indicates an infection, and leukemia typically causes an overprodu...

Biden to expand migrant access to health plans: US officials

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:17:49 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is set to announce that his administration is expanding eligibility for Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act’s health insurance exchanges to hundreds of thousands of immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally as children, according to two U.S. officials briefed on the matter.The action will allow participants in the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, to access government-funded health insurance programs. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the matter before the formal announcement on Thursday.The 2012 DACA initiative was meant to shield from deportation immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally by their parents as young children and to allow them to work legally in the country. However, the immigrants were still ineligible for government-subsidized health insurance programs because they did not meet the definition for having “lawful presence” in the U.S. That’s what Biden’s ...

Russia identifies Ukrainian suspect in war blogger’s killing

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:17:49 GMT

Russia’s top security agency on Thursday accused a Ukrainian man of involvement in a bombing that killed a well-known Russian military blogger at a St. Petersburg cafe.Vladlen Tatarsky, 40, an ardent supporter of the war in Ukraine who filed regular reports on the fighting from the front lines, was killed on April 2 as he led a discussion at a riverside cafe in the historic heart of St. Petersburg, Russia’s second-largest city. Over 50 people were injured.A 26-year-old St. Petersburg resident, Darya Trepova, who was seen on video moments before the blast presenting Tatarsky with a statuette that contained explosives, was quickly arrested. According to Russian media reports, Trepova told investigators she was asked to deliver the statuette but didn’t know what was inside it.Russian authorities described the bombing as an act of terrorism and blamed Ukrainian intelligence agencies for orchestrating it. Ukrainian authorities have not directly responded to the accusation, but an a...

Norway expels 15 Russian diplomats suspected of intel work

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:17:49 GMT

Norway’s government said Thursday that it was expelling 15 Russian diplomats from the country because they were suspected of gathering intelligence while working at the Russian Embassy in Oslo. Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt said the move was “an important measure to counter and reduce the scope of Russian intelligence activities in Norway, and thereby secure our national interests.”Norway’s government said the activities of the Russians declared persona non grata were “incompatible with their diplomatic status.” The Associated Press

Parts of High Park off limits today as crews conduct controlled burns

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:17:49 GMT

West-end Toronto residents may notice significant smoke billowing from High Park on Thursday — but there’s no cause for alarm.The City of Toronto will be conducting controlled prescribed burns in the park from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m.As a result, access to the park will be closed off to all vehicles beginning at 7 a.m. until the smoke has dissipated. Public access will also be restricted in areas around the burn sites.“A prescribed burn is a deliberately set and carefully controlled fire that burns low to the ground and consumes dried leaves, small twigs and grass stems, but does not harm larger trees,” reads a release from the City. “The City has been safely executing prescribed burns in High Park for almost two decades.”2023 High Park prescribed burn sites map. (City of Toronto)The City says Thursday’s summer-like forecast is expected to provide “optimal weather conditions” for crews to conduct the burn. The expected conditions sho...

Protesters march against Macron’s plan to raise pension age

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:17:49 GMT

PARIS (AP) — Protesters opposed to President Emmanuel Macron’s unpopular plan to raise the retirement age in France marched Thursday in cities and towns around France in a final show of anger before a decision on whether the measure meets constitutional standards.Hours before the Paris march got underway, protesters piled bags of garbage in front of the Constitutional Council, which is expected to decide Friday whether to nix any or all parts of the legislation. The trash piles were cleaned up but signaled the start of a new strike by garbage collectors that was timed to start with Thursday’s nationwide protests marches. A previous strike last month left the streets of the French capital filled with mounds of reeking refuse. “The mobilization is far from over,” the leader of the CGT union, Sophie Binet, said at a trash incineration site south of Paris where several hundred protesters blocked garbage trucks. “As long as this reform isn’t withdrawn, the mobilization will continue in o...

Prosecutors: German climate demo didn’t cause cyclist death

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:17:49 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — German prosecutors said Thursday they have determined that climate protesters weren’t responsible for the death in October of a cyclist after their road blockade caused a delay in the arrival of a rescue vehicle at an accident scene.The Oct. 31 incident in Berlin fueled controversy over the tactics of the Last Generation group, whose actions also have included throwing mashed potatoes at a Claude Monet painting in an art museum and disrupting traffic at airports. Chancellor Olaf Scholz urged activists to show “creativity” and avoid endangering others.Berlin’s fire service said at the time that blockades resulted in officers with special rescue equipment getting stuck in traffic as they rushed to help a seriously injured cyclist who got stuck under a cement mixer.Prosecutors in the German capital said Thursday that they looked into whether the death of the cyclist could have been prevented if it hadn’t been for a delay caused by two Last Generation act...

The best and worst places to work in the federal government

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:17:49 GMT

(The Hill) – Federal government employees sounded off on their workplaces in an annual survey by the Partnership for Public Service, giving insight to what are the best — and worst — places to work in the sprawling federal bureaucracy.The survey ranked 17 large, 27 mid-sized and 30 small agencies in the federal government, basing the ratings off of three promptsI recommend my organization as a good place to workConsidering everything, how satisfied are you with your job?Considering everything, how satisfied are you with your organization?It also ranked the departments on 12 different workplace issues, like pay, diversity and leadership.The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) was ranked as the best overall large agency, those with over 15,000 employees, marking its second year running in the top spot. Coming in last for the large agencies was the Social Security Administration, which had the lowest overall rating of all agencies in the survey, regardless of size. The...

City of Austin: Salvation Army downtown shelter to close doors without forcing anyone to the streets

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:17:49 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) – The woman in charge of Austin's homeless strategy assured members of the Public Health Committee Wednesday that no one will be forced out into the streets when a downtown shelter closes Saturday. On Feb. 17, Salvation Army announced it would be closing its downtown shelter March 15, citing it could not continue to offer the desired level and quality of care due to the age and condition of the facility. At the time, 97 people were using the shelter.Dianna Gray, the city’s Homeless Strategy Officer, said the Salvation Army agreed to extend the shelter for another month and will close it by April 15. Salvation Army to extend shelter operations to help relocate remaining clients Gray told the PHC there were three people left at the downtown shelter as of Wednesday.Those three would be relocated to the NorthBridge shelter, located on 7400 North Interstate 35, over the course of Wednesday and Thursday, Gray said.Gray presented a breakdown of where people had gone a...