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Italian police dog with fine nose for cocaine sniffs out drugs hidden in banana shipment

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:22 GMT

ROME (AP) — With the help of a high-leaping dog with a fine nose for cocaine, Italian police seized more than 2,700 kilos (about 3 tons) of the drug hidden in 70 tons of boxed bananas shipped from Ecuador, authorities said Tuesday.Police estimated that the cocaine, which they described as of the finest quality, could have brought traffickers more than 800 million euros ($900 million) in street sales if it had reached its ultimate destination in Armenia. Customs police became suspicious about two containers on a cargo ship that recently arrived at the port of Gioia Tauro, in the “toe” of the Italian peninsula and a stronghold of a ‘ndrangheta organized crime clan. Police told Italian state radio that documents and a background check indicated the shippers of the bananas weren’t in the business of moving that much fruit.Officers used scanning machines and the dog, named Joel, to uncover packets of cocaine hidden in boxes stacked meters-high in container trucks.Joel leaped high a...

Putin, Zelenskyy agree to meet with ‘African leaders’ peace mission,’ says South Africa president

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:22 GMT

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said Tuesday that his Russian and Ukrainian counterparts have agreed to separate meetings with a delegation of African heads of state to discuss a possible plan to end the war in Ukraine. Ramaphosa spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy by phone over the weekend and they each agreed to host “an African leaders’ peace mission” in Moscow and Kyiv, respectively, a statement from the South African leader’s office said. The leaders of Zambia, Senegal, Congo, Uganda and Egypt plan to join Ramaphosa on the mission, the president said. He said Putin and Zelenskyy gave him the go-ahead to “commence the preparations.” No details were provided on the possible parameters of the talks. Zelenskyy has previously said he would not consider a peace deal to end the 15-month war until Russian forces withdraw completely from Ukrainian territory.U.N. Secretary-G...

Russian Duma votes to scrap Cold War armed forces deal

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:22 GMT

MOSCOW (AP) — The lower house of Russia’s parliament on Tuesday voted unanimously to formally pull out of a key Cold War-era security deal, more than eight years after Moscow halted its participation. The vote in the State Duma came less than a week after President Vladimir Putin introduced a draft bill on May 10 “denouncing” the Treaty of Conventional Armed Forces in Europe, which aimed to prevent Cold War rivals from massing forces at or near mutual borders. The deal was signed in November 1990, but not fully ratified until two years later.The Federation Council, Russia’s Kremlin-controlled upper chamber that generally rubber-stamps legislation that the Duma has approved, is scheduled to consider Russia’s pullout from the treaty next Wednesday.Moscow first announced its intention to completely withdraw from the agreement in early 2015. Since last February, Moscow’s military operation in Ukraine has seen hundreds of thousands of Russian troops pour into the country, which sha...

Blue Jays on guard after Aaron Judge’s ‘kind of odd’ glances during late-game at-bat

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:22 GMT

Antennas are up around the Toronto Blue Jays over Aaron Judge’s curious, if not outright suspicious, mid-at-bat glances to his right, which is to be expected for a sport still in the shadow of the Houston Astros’ sign-stealing scandal.What exactly the New York Yankees slugger was doing during his eighth-inning at-bat Monday, when Sportsnet broadcast cameras caught him looking sideways before Jay Jackson delivered a pitch at least twice, including before his second homer of the night, wasn’t immediately clear.Blue Jays manager John Schneider described it as “kind of odd that a hitter would be looking in that direction” and added that “he’s obviously looking in that direction for a reason,” which Judge said was too quiet teammates still chirping home-plate umpire Clint Vondrak, who had just ejected manager Aaron Boone.That’s plausible enough although given that the Yankees were fined for using electronic devices to decode and share signs in 2015 and 2016, the incident is sure to...

ChatGPT’s chief to testify before Congress as concerns grow about artificial intelligence risks

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:22 GMT

The head of the artificial intelligence company that makes ChatGPT will testify before Congress as lawmakers call for new rules to guide the rapid development of AI technology.OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is scheduled to speak at a Senate hearing Tuesday. His San Francisco-based startup rocketed to public attention after its release late last year of ChatGPT, a free chatbot tool that answers questions with convincingly human-like responses.What started out as a panic among educators about ChatGPT’s use to cheat on homework assignments has expanded to broader concerns about the ability of the latest crop of “generative AI” tools to mislead people, spread falsehoods, violate copyright protections and upend some jobs. And while there’s no immediate sign that Congress will craft sweeping new AI rules, as European lawmakers are doing, the societal concerns brought Altman and other tech CEOs to the White House earlier this month and have led U.S. agencies to promise to crack down on ...

Stock market today: Wall Street tips lower as Home Depot weighs

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:22 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are ticking lower Tuesday after Home Depot warned of flagging sales, the latest discouraging signal for an economy under pressure.The S&P 500 was 0.3% lower in early trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 182, or 0.5%, at 33,166, as of 9:50 a.m. Eastern time, while the Nasdaq composite was 0.1% lower.Home Depot was one of the heaviest weights on the market after it said its revenue fell by more in the latest quarter than expected. Its stock dropped 1.8% after it described broad-based pressures across its business following years of big growth. It also cut its forecast for sales this fiscal year given all the uncertainty going forward. Home Depot’s report helped cause other retailers to fall, including a 2% drop for Lowe’s. Other big retailers are scheduled to report their results later this week, including Target and Walmart.They’re under the microscope because resilient spending by U.S. households has been one of the main positives...

Joly promotes friendship with South Korea as Canada seeks closer ties

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:22 GMT

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA — Canada is vying to be the “best of friends” with South Korea, Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly said Tuesday after launching closer talks on economic security with her counterparts in Seoul.Joly arrived in the South Korean capital with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who’s making his first official visit to the country as the two governments try to build closer ties and work together on global security concerns.Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne joined Joly to begin a “high-level dialogue on economic security,” with both countries committing to have recurring meetings and tracking their progress on moving away from dependence on China.“Ultimately we’ve been good friends for a long time, but we want to be best of friends,” Joly said in a news conference in Tuesday night.The visit by Trudeau, who is expected to remain in the country until he heads to the G7 leaders’ summit in Hiroshima, Japan, on ...

Austin Parks and Rec seeing a surge in summer job applicants

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:22 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Summer is right around the corner, with most schools letting out for break next week.The City of Austin Parks and Recreation Department is gearing up for an abundance of summer activities with a full-fledged recruiting effort.Summer seasonal employees — such as lifeguards and camp counselors — will earn a $20 minimum wage along with being eligible to earn up to $750 in bonuses throughout the summer. Austin Parks and Rec plans to offer bonuses to summer employees, open all pools June 12 PARD is also offering up to $800 in bonuses for full-time temporary positions within its operations and maintenance team. These positions include cashiers, maintenance workers, and park grounds assistants.This is all part of the city’s summer employee bonus program, aimed at attracting applicants for various part-time positions.Last summer, only 15 of 34 of the city’s pools opened at the beginning of June because of lifeguard shortages.Aquatic Supervisor Aaron Levine said it wasn’t s...

Opal Lee, ‘Grandmother of Juneteenth,’ receives honorary doctorate degree from UNT

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:22 GMT

DENTON, Texas (KXAN) -- Opal Lee, recognized as the “Grandmother of Juneteenth,” celebrated with graduates at the University of North Texas over the weekend. The 96-year-old Marshall native received an honorary doctorate degree Sunday as part of UNT's Spring Commencement. Lee graduated from UNT with a Master of Education in 1963. She, a retired educator, was pivotal in the push to make Juneteenth a national holiday. Portrait of Opal Lee, ‘Grandmother of Juneteenth,’ unveiled in Texas Senate In 2016, she started walking two and a half miles in cities all across the country. Those miles symbolized the two and a half years it took for word to get out to all slaves that they were free.And crowds began joining her. Those walks led President Joe Biden to sign a bill making Juneteenth a federal holiday in 2021.Lee was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022. She was also honored by the Texas Senate in February, with her portrait going on display at the Capitol to honor her lead...

Loons star Emanuel Reynoso cleared by MLS to play again

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:22 GMT

Minnesota United star midfielder Emanuel Reynoso has been cleared by Major League Soccer to return to full-team participation, the club said in a statement Tuesday.Reynoso had been suspended by MLS without pay since mid-February over his failure to report to preseason training camp in early January. After nearly four months in Argentina, Reynoso returned to Minnesota in early May and went through meetings with MLS and MNUFC last week to work toward being eligible to play again.Reynoso, a two-time MLS All-Star, will not play in Wednesday’s game against Houston at Allianz Field, nor in Saturday’s game at Portland. An estimate on when Reynoso might return to first-team training is next week, once the club returns from Oregon.Reynoso had a long meeting with Loons manager Adrian Heath last week, but as of Thursday, he had not yet met with teammates. Captain Michael Boxall said he wants to see Reynoso committed to work for the collective.The Loons (3-5-3) are winless in six consecutive ga...