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NATO chief visits Ukraine for 1st time since Russia invaded

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:34 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg visited Ukraine on Thursday for the first time since Russia invaded more than a year ago, a highly symbolic trip that underscores the alliance’s commitment to helping Kyiv defend itself.The Kremlin quickly warned that Ukraine must not be allowed to join NATO. Russia has given various and shifting justifications for going to war, but it has repeatedly pointed to the expansion of the military alliance toward its borders in recent years, including citing fears that Kyiv would be admitted.Images published in local media showed Stoltenberg apparently paying tribute to fallen Ukrainian soldiers in Kyiv’s St. Michael’s Square.The visit, just two days after Russian President Vladimir Putin himself went to Ukraine, holds important symbolism, but its exact purpose wasn’t immediately clear.NATO has no official presence in Ukraine, but Stoltenberg has been the strong voice of the alliance throughout the war. He has been instrume...

Singapore to resume executions after 6-month break

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:34 GMT

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — A Singaporean man is scheduled to be hanged next week for abetting an attempt to smuggle cannabis into the island-state, in a resumption of executions after a half-year pause, activists said Thursday.The family of Tangaraju Suppiah, 46, was notified in a letter that he would be executed next Wednesday, anti-death penalty activist Kokila Annamalai said.Tangaraju was detained in 2014 for drug consumption and failure to report for a drug test, according to another activist, Kirsten Han. He was later linked to two drug traffickers through a phone number used to coordinate the delivery of cannabis. The High Court found Tangaraju guilty of conspiring to traffic 1 kilogram (2.2 pounds) of cannabis and sentenced him to mandatory death in 2018, Han said.“The last execution carried out in Singapore was in October 2022. Death row prisoners, their family members and abolitionists have been holding our breath for the past six months, terrified of when the killing sp...

Biden labor secretary nominee Su faces doubts in Senate

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:34 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden’s nominee to be the next labor secretary, Julie Su, will testify to the Senate Thursday with key Democrats unwilling to voice support for her confirmation, creating uncertainty about her prospects in the narrowly divided chamber.A handful of moderate Democrats have not publicly stated whether they will vote for Su’s nomination ahead of her confirmation hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. Biden in February picked Su, a civil rights attorney and the current deputy labor secretary, to replace Marty Walsh, the former mayor of Boston, to lead the Department of Labor.The daughter of an immigrant mother who arrived on a cargo ship, Su would be the first Asian American in the Biden administration to serve in the Cabinet at the secretary level. Biden called her path proof of the “American dream” and that “she’s committed to making sure that dream is in reach for every American.”Su was previously confirme...

US invests in alternative solar tech, more solar for renters

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:34 GMT

The Biden administration is set to announce more than $80 million in funding Thursday in a push to produce more solar panels in the U.S., make solar energy available to more people, and pursue superior alternatives to the ubiquitous sparkly panels made with silicon. The Department of Energy will announce the investments in the morning and Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm plans to visit a community solar site in Washington in the afternoon. Community solar refers to a variety of arrangements where renters and people who don’t control their rooftops can still get their electricity from solar power. Two weeks ago, Vice President Kamala Harris announced what the administration said was the largest community solar effort ever in the United States. Now it is set to spend $52 million on 19 solar projects across a dozen states, including $10 million from the infrastructure law, as well as $30 million on technologies that will help integrate solar electricity into the grid.The DOE al...

It will take more than money to fix health care: Canadian Medical Association

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:34 GMT

OTTAWA — The president of the Canadian Medical Association says the new health funding deal struck between provinces and the federal government represents the biggest nominal injection of cash into Canada’s health system, but that won’t be enough to fix what’s broken.The association compared the deal with other health agreements over the last two decades and found it to be the largest by a significant margin at about $16 billion in increases per year over 10 years.The analysis also looked at whether such funding agreements have made a difference in the past.Association president Dr. Alika Lafontaine says big investments do seem to have made a difference, but progress backslid when parties stopped working together.He points to the $1 billion former prime minister Stephen Harper put toward lowering wait times, which appeared to make a fairly significant improvement Now he says the problems faced by the health-care workforce are much more serious and it will take poli...

The Supreme Court fight over an abortion pill: What’s next?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:34 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court initially gave itself a deadline of Wednesday to decide whether women seeking access to a widely used abortion pill would face more restrictions while a court case plays out. But on the day of the highly anticipated decision the justices had only this to say: We need more time.In a one-sentence order, the court said it now expects to act by Friday evening. There was no explanation of the reason for the delay.The new abortion controversy comes less than a year after the Supreme Court’s conservative majority overturned Roe v. Wade and allowed more than a dozen states to effectively ban abortion outright.The following is a look at the drug at issue in the new case, how the case got to the nation’s highest court and what the delay might say about what’s going on.___WHAT IS MIFEPRISTONE?Mifepristone was approved for use by the Food and Drug Administration more than two decades ago. It has been used by more than 5 million women to safe...

Helping out: How American volunteerism is changing – and why

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:34 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Daniela Fernandez has no trouble attracting volunteers to her group Sustainable Ocean Alliance. Last month, she presided over the Our Ocean Youth Leadership Summit in Panama, where 77 participants from 45 countries volunteered their time to develop solutions to protect the oceans. The summit focused on participants between 18 and 35, the age group many in the philanthropic sector worry are not volunteering enough. It had to turn away more than 900 applicants.“Young people crave having sustained impact and seeing how their time, their energy and their passion is actually moving the needle,” Fernandez said. “The problem is, a lot of organizations don’t have the process or the tools or the projects that will deliver on that need — that urgency that young people have.”For decades, volunteerism in America has been declining. But according to a recent U.S. Census Bureau and AmeriCorps survey, it dropped another 7 percentage points between 2019 and 2021. The survey found ab...

To stay out of their heads, goaltenders find ways to unwind

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:34 GMT

DENVER (AP) — To keep his racing mind in check, Edmonton goaltender Stuart Skinner sometimes turns to the chess board. Anything to unwind and not constantly dwell — even obsess — on stopping shots. In an effort to escape a bit from their high-pressure jobs, goalies take different approaches. It could be picking up chess (Skinner’s move), reading a good book (a novel approach by Colorado’s Alexandar Georgiev ), binging a Netflix show (Carolina’s Antti Raanta ) or just taking the dog for a walk (Seattle’s Philipp Grubauer).The point is to find a way to slow things down to make sure their dreams aren’t haunted by high-speed shots flying at them from the likes of Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon or David Pastrnak. Because at this time of year, every save — or non-save — takes on greater importance. Replaying the goals in the mind can become an occupational hazard. “That balance between not being 24/7 hockey is really important for their mental health because they...

Driver stabbed after argument in Mississauga parking lot: Police

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:34 GMT

Peel police are searching for a suspect after a man was stabbed during a fight in Mississauga.Officers responded to reports of a stabbing near Eglinton Avenue West and Ridgeway Drive around 6:30 p.m. Wednesday.Police tell CityNews there was an argument between a driver and a pedestrian in a plaza parking lot. The two men allegedly exchanged words before things turned physical and the pedestrian stabbed the driver.Paramedics say the victim was taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries. Police later upgraded his condition to serious but stable.The suspect fled the scene on foot before officers arrived. He is described as man in his 20s, five-feet five-inches tall with black curly hair. He was last seen wearing a black sweater and black sweatpants.Anyone with information is being asked to contact police.

WATCH: Middle school wrestler sucker-punched by opponent who lost

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:34 GMT

SANDWICH, Ill. (WGN) — An Illinois middle school wrestler is speaking out after a widely-shared video shows him getting punched by his opponent after a match.Jillian Hill’s 14-year-old son Cooper is a two-time state wrestling champion, competing in the 125-128-pound division. On April 8, Cooper competed in the Beat the Streets tournament at Oak Park High School with his team out of Spar Academy in Aurora. "He had won the match by tech-fall and when they came to the circle, Cooper extended his hand to shake his hand," Hill told WGN. "That’s when the assault happened." Downtown beating witness: ‘They were going to kill that young man’ The video shows Cooper, in an orange singlet, shaking his competitor's hand just seconds before the Maine West student punches him in the face. Cooper immediately fell to the ground."I remember there was this stinging in my face. I balled up and I checked for blood. I looked up to see my stepdad and mom checking me," Cooper said."Cooper has h...