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Yoon opens state visit with spotlight on space, mega deals

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:38:46 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol opened his state visit to Washington on Tuesday by touring a NASA facility with Vice President Kamala Harris as the Biden administration looks to deepen ties with a close ally that it sees as only growing in importance in an increasingly complicated Indo-Pacific.Before Harris and Yoon’s visit to the Goddard Space Flight Center in suburban Greenbelt, Md., the two countries signed a joint statement on cooperation in space communications and navigation, and received briefings from NASA scientists on cooperative efforts on space exploration and addressing the climate crisis,“Our alliance is leading on some of the most important and pressing issues of our time,” Harris said in remarks with Yoon by her side at the NASA facility.Yoon, for his part, recalled his exhilaration as a third-grader watching on television as Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin stepped off Apollo 11 to become the first humans to set foot on the moon in 1969. N...

Mom, boyfriend get life sentences in 10-year-old boy’s death

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:38:46 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The mother of a 10-year-old boy and her boyfriend were each sentenced Tuesday to life in prison for torturing and murdering the child, who was beaten, brutalized and starved in Southern California.Heather Barron, 33, and Kareem Leiva, 37, were convicted of first-degree murder involving torture last month in a nonjury trial. They also were found guilty of abusing two other children in their Lancaster home.Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Sam Ohta sentenced them both to life without the possibility of parole, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office said in a news release. The sentencing followed emotional statements from the boy’s relatives and friends, ABC7 reported. The judge called Anthony Avalos a “helpless child” dependent on his mother for his basic needs. “Instead Anthony was tortured and killed,” Ohta said.Neither Barron nor Leiva spoke during Tuesday’s hearing, according to the TV station. Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies w...

Moon mission could boost Canadian health-care, climate efforts: Artemis II astronauts

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:38:46 GMT

OTTAWA — Four astronauts selected to orbit the moon say the Artemis II mission can help inform how Canada responds to food insecurity, health-care needs and climate adaptation in the Arctic.“How do we actually get eight billion people to row in the same direction and work on these problems? Because these are global problems,” said Jeremy Hansen, a Canadian colonel who will join three Americans in space.“We can do great things together. We can do better as a human race. And here’s one small example,” he said alongside his crewmates in a Tuesday interview with The Canadian Press.The mission planned for November 2024 is part of an ambitious plan to establish a long-term presence on the moon, and has NASA hoping Ottawa further boosts its spending on outer space.The 10-day mission involves slingshotting into deep space for a figure-8 manoeuvre around the dark side of the moon.If it is successful, Artemis II will mark the first time any human has ventured so ...

Boy, 16, charged in TTC bus stabbing at Old Mill Station

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:38:46 GMT

Toronto police have arrested and charged a 16-year-old boy in connection to a stabbing on board a TTC bus that was parked at Old Mill Subway Station in Etobicoke last January.Officers were called to the station just before 4 p.m. on Wednesday, January 25, for reports of a stabbing.The victim, a 16-year-old boy, was found suffering from multiple stab wounds and was taken to a trauma centre with serious but non-life-threatening injuries.Police say the victim was on a bus parked at the station when he became involved in a brief conversation with another male. Investigators say the suspect stabbed the victim several times.Investigators originally said they were seeking an adult man in the case, but in an update Tuesday night police said the alleged culprit is a 16-year-old boy. He was arrested on Tuesday and is now facing charges of aggravated assault, assault with a weapon, carry concealed weapon and possess a weapon for a dangerous purpose.

Judge tosses felony charge against former parole chairperson

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:38:46 GMT

RACINE, Wis. (AP) — A judge on Tuesday dropped a felony charge against the former chairperson of the Wisconsin Parole Commission. Racine County Circuit Judge Eugene Gasiorkiewicz dismissed the case against John Tate II on Tuesday, the Racine Journal Times reported. Prosecutors charged Tate on April 18 with using his public position as a Racine alderman for his private benefit, online court records indicate.According to a criminal complaint, Tate unlawfully negotiated the terms of his employment for Racine’s new violence interruption coordinator position after approving the creation of the job as Common Council president. He then applied for the position, and city officials offered it to him. Tate initially announced that he would resign as an alderman to begin his role as the coordinator in mid-November. However, he didn’t resign until his term finished April 17 after he said he had been advised that state law prohibits sitting local elected officials from taking positions that were...

Venezuelan asylum seekers arrive at O'Hare from Texas

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:38:46 GMT

CHICAGO — Asylum seekers who say they have been vetted by immigration at the Mexican border arrived at O'Hare International Airport late Tuesday morning, the latest development in a string of issues hampering their placement in local shelters.On Monday, WGN reported on a number of migrants who were stuck being shuffled back and forth between police stations in the City. Tuesday, more arrived with questions over where they would be heading next. GoFundMe created for teacher hospitalized in Jefferson Park hit-and-run Jose Lopez, an asylum seeker at O'Hare from Venezuela, told WGN their journey is not over yet, adding he hopes to find shelter so that he can then find a job.Lopez is one of several Venezuelans asylum seekers who arrived at the airport Tuesday with not much more than a one-way ticket to Chicago from Texas. After a phone call to the City's 311 service line, solo travelers and families patiently waited for a shuttle they were told will take them to a place to rest."When a...

'Disruptive' passenger forces Israel-bound United flight back to Newark after 3 hours

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:38:46 GMT

(NEXSTAR) – A "disruptive" passenger caused a United flight crew to turn a Tel Aviv-bound plane around Sunday, delaying the rest of the passengers for hours, United said.Flight 90, which departed early that morning from Newark, turned back after about three hours into the 10-hour flight, website Flight Radar 24 shows.The U-turn happened after an unidentified man got into a confrontation with the flight crew and a shouting match ensued, a passenger told Israeli media outlet YNet.The eyewitness said the man was waiting for the bathroom and decided to sit down in one of the seats designated for flight attendants. "Crew members told him that if he did not return to his seat, the plane would be turned back to New York," the witness said, adding that the man appeared not to believe them, ridiculing the crew members. Passenger claims Airline was ‘lying’ about lost luggage after AirTag showed it at ‘mystery’ building She told YNet that she was surprised when the flight did turn around bec...

Man facing charges after umpire attack caught on video at Ohio adult softball game

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:38:46 GMT

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- A softball player who was caught on camera punching an umpire at an adult league game is now facing charges. According to a release from the office of Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein, the player, identified as Gregory Roudabush, has been charged with a first-degree misdemeanor assault and a fourth-degree charge for disorderly conduct. The investigation by the Columbus Recreation and Parks Department began on Apr. 19 when the assault was captured on video. This led to Roudabush also getting banned for life from future leagues. The umpire, Wiley Butler, and his attorney John Graceffo spoke to Nexstar's WCMH and said they intended to take legal action. See a previous report in the player above. “What this other person did amounts to nothing less than criminal conduct, and he needs to pay for that," Graceffo said.Butler told WCMH that he asked Roudabush to move over a bit and explained why. The player then became verbally abusi...

Iowa family shares video of adorable dog and duck BFFs

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:38:46 GMT

RADCLIFFE, Iowa -- These best friends look nothing alike, they aren’t even the same species, but that doesn’t stop them from having a great time!Sage, the dog, and Quack, the duck, can’t get enough of each other. Riley Hartz of Radcliffe says, "When Quack sees her come outside, he will run across the farm to get to her. When Quack sees Sage inside he will even follow her from window to window." Watch: Rare white killer whale calf spotted off California coast Quack and Sage were enjoying the weather Monday night as they tore around the yard playing. Check out how much fun the BFF duo has together!

Watch: Rare white killer whale calf spotted off California coast

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:38:46 GMT

NEWPORT, Calif. (KSWB) — A rare white killer whale calf was captured on video Monday swimming among a pod of orcas off the Southern California coast.The footage of the orca pod was captured by Newport Coastal Adventure, which was tipped off to the pod's location around 10:30 a.m. by a Long Beach whale-watching company.The orcas were initially spotted over 45 miles from the Newport Harbor, but crews with Newport Coastal Adventure decided to take all available boats out on a last-minute trip for a chance to see the killer whales, according to Captain Delaney Trowbridge. VIDEO: Indiana deputy saves woman from choking on french fries A group of 20 passengers were able to spot the pod of seven in the waters, including a three-year-old calf aptly named Frosty for its white appearance, Trowbridge said. According to Newport Coastal Adventure, Frosty has a unique genetic condition that gives the calf a lighter pigment than normal killer whales. Killer whale calves usually have the same bla...