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Wave of missiles and drones pounds Ukraine, hits medical center

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:18:30 GMT

KYIV ­— Russia hit Ukraine with a barrage of missiles and drones overnight, including a strike on a medical center that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy labeled a war crime.The attack started Saturday evening and continued until the early hours of Sunday, Ukraine’s Air Force said in a statement Sunday morning. It followed a Ukrainian assault on a Russian tanker in the Black Sea early Saturday.Ukrainian air defense managed to shoot down 30 missiles and 27 drones, the Air Force said. But Ukrainian officials did not disclose any information about at least five missiles fired against Ukraine last night, including three Kinzhal cruise missiles.“Kinzhals and Kalibr cruise missiles hit Motor Sich [in the Zaporizhzhia region] and hit our Khmelnytskiy region. Our defense forces shot down part of the missiles,” Zelenskyy said in a video statement. Motor Sich is a Ukrainian aircraft-engine manufacturer based in Zaporizhzhia that produces engines for the military-industrial complex....

Sunny Sunday, showers return Monday

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:18:30 GMT

It’s another fantastic forecast today! There’s no excuse not to get outside with low humidity, light wind and warm temperatures. Highs inland reach the low/mid 80s. Sea breezes will keep temperatures slightly lower along the coast.It’s another day of great baseball weather!Overnight we’ll have increasing clouds and a wind shift out of the southwest ahead of changes tomorrow. Overnight lows will stay mild in the 60s. Monday’s high temperatures will likely stay in the upper 70s with a lot of clouds and scattered showers around.Have the umbrella with you tomorrow as a warm front will lift those showers across our region. There could be some light showers around for the mid/late morning. Expect scattered showers into the afternoon.An area of low pressure brings scattered storms back to the forecast late Monday into Tuesday.Downpours will likely be the biggest threat with any of these storms. There’s also a risk for isolated severe storms overnight Mon...

Delayed passengers growl after a bear escapes from the cargo hold of an Iraqi plane in Dubai

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:18:30 GMT

BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq’s prime minister has ordered an investigation into how a bear escaped from its crate aboard an Iraqi aircraft as it was due to depart from Dubai airport, leaving passengers disgruntled over the delay and causing a stir on social media. Iraqi Airways said Saturday it wasn’t to blame for the bear’s escape and that the aircraft’s crew worked with authorities in the United Arab Emirates which dispatched specialists to sedate the animal and remove it from the plane.A video clip circulating on social media showed the plane’s captain apologizing to passengers for Friday’s takeoff delay because of the bear’s escape from its crate in the cargo hold. Iraqi Airways said procedures to transport the bear were carried out in accordance with the law and with procedures and standards approved by the International Air Transport Association (IATA).According to the airline. the bear was being flown from Baghdad to Dubai. A person speaking on the ...

Dozens saved by Italy from migrant shipwrecks; some, clinging to rocks, plucked to safety by copters

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:18:30 GMT

ROME (AP) — Dozens of migrants were dramatically rescued by Italy as they foundered in the sea or clung to a rocky reef Sunday after three boats launched by smugglers from northern Africa shipwrecked in rough waters in separate incidents over the weekend. Survivors said some 30 fellow migrants were missing from capsized vessels. In a particularly risky operation, two helicopters battled strong winds to pluck to safety, one by one, migrants stranded for nearly two days on a steep, rocky reef of tiny Lampedusa island. Firefighters said all all the migrants, including a child, who had been clinging to the rocks after their boat smashed into the reef late Friday early Saturday, were saved. In all, 34 migrants had been stranded for two nights on the reef, including a woman who is eight months pregnant, said Giornale di Sicilia, a newspaper. She was taken to a hospital, it said. Some were rescued by a firefighter helicopter and the others by an Italian air force copter, which lowered expe...

Dirt bike rider dies in crash at Maine motocross park

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:18:30 GMT

MINOT, Maine (AP) — A 19-year-old dirt bike rider was killed when he crashed on a specially designed course with hills and curves, officials said.The motorcycle operator apparently lost control after a jump at Hemond’s Motocross and Offroad Park and then went off the course, crashed through two wooden fences and hit an embankment, the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife said.Jessie Moody, 19, of Lewiston, was pronounced dead at the scene on Saturday, officials said.Moody was wearing a helmet and protective gear, which are required for the course, officials said. Life Flight of Maine, an ambulance crew and firefighters responded and attempted lifesaving measures, officials said.The park in the town of Minot provides trails specifically created for motocross bikes, all-terrain vehicles and other offroad vehicles. The business didn’t immediately respond to emails.The Associated Press

Polish operator starts repairs on pipeline carrying oil from Russia to Europe after detecting a leak

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:18:30 GMT

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland’s oil pipeline operator said Sunday repairs are underway to a pipeline carrying oil from Russia to Germany that was temporarily shut down after a leak was discovered.The operator, PERN, said the pipeline is expected to resume normal operations on Tuesday.PERN said it detected the leak near Chodecz, a town in central Poland about 145 kilometers (90 miles) west of Warsaw. The leak was on one of the two lines that comprise the western section of the Druzhba (Friendship) pipeline.The company said it immediately halted pumping through the faulty pipeline, but the second line was operating normally.Firefighters and emergency services secured the area. An investigation into the cause of the the leak was underway, PERN said. The company said in a statement Sunday that crews have reached the damaged section of the pipeline and that repairs were underway.The Druzhba pipeline stretch carries oil from Russia to refineries in Poland, Germany, Hungary, Slovakia and th...

The EPA’s ambitious plan to cut auto emissions to slow climate change runs into skepticism

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:18:30 GMT

DETROIT (AP) — The U.S. government’s most ambitious plan ever to slash planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions from passenger vehicles faces skepticism both about how realistic it is and whether it goes far enough.The Environmental Protection Agency in April announced new strict emissions limits that the agency says are vital to slowing climate change as people around the globe endure record-high temperatures, raging wildfires and intense storms. The EPA says the industry could meet the limits if 67% of new-vehicle sales are electric by 2032, a pace the auto industry calls unrealistic. However, the new rule would not require automakers to boost electric vehicle sales directly. Instead, it sets emissions limits and allows automakers to choose how to meet them. Even if the industry boosts EV sales to the level the EPA recommends, any reduction in pollution could prove more modest than the agency expects. The Associated Press has estimated that nearly 80% of vehicles being driven in th...

How you walk could shape the future of biometrics: experts

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:18:30 GMT

Canadians have been unlocking iPhones with their fingerprint since 2013 and are sometimes exposed to facial recognition software before boarding planes, but when it comes to biometric technology, Erik Scheme and Mayssa Rekik are one step ahead.The associate director of the University of New Brunswick’s Institute of Biomedical Engineering and the advanced technologies undergraduate student are part of a team researching what could be the future of biometric security: footsteps.They installed electronic tiles from P.E.I.’s Stepscan Technologies at their university lab and in the lobby of Fredericton’s Cyber Centre to generate a pixel-by-pixel heat map of the pressure distribution of someone’s feet as they walk.The heel-to-toe data they are capturing will help develop 3D models of the people walking across the tiles and deep learning frameworks that can differentiate one person’s walk from another to identify individuals based on gait.“Whether that’s...

California driver pulled over for using a mannequin in the carpool lane

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:18:30 GMT

(KRON) — A California driver seemed really desperate to get into the carpool lane. In an attempt to fulfill the multiple-passenger requirement, the driver thought they can get away with it thanks to a mannequin.Not so fast. California Highway Patrol pulled over the driver in Marin County for using a mannequin (seen below) in an attempt to meet the requirement to drive in the carpool lane, the law enforcement agency explained on Facebook Thursday.A driver was pulled over for using a mannequin to get in the carpool lanes (CHP Marin).To the driver's credit, an effort was made to make it look like a real person from afar. The tattooed mannequin, sporting a sun hat, sunglasses, and facial hair was sitting in the back seat of the vehicle."That moment you get pulled over for a carpool violation and your passenger in the back chooses to remain silent," CHP Marin wrote in its social media post. ‘One of the best dummies we have ever seen’: Driver caught with realistic mannequin in carpool l...

Don't be mesmerized - you should kill this dazzling bug

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:18:30 GMT

(NEXSTAR) - It’s hard not to be dazzled by the spotted lanternfly, with its spots and pair of bright red wings. Despite its stunning appearance, experts hope you’ll kill it. The spotted lanternfly, though small, is invasive in the U.S. and can pose serious problems for the agriculture industries in many states. Native to China, the spotted lanternfly was first detected in Pennsylvania in 2014. It has since spread to more than a dozen states, including three that have reported their first sightings since last year. The insect has spread largely throughout the Northeast, with detections reported in Connecticut, Delaware, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia, and West Virginia, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.  Find one of these invasive, toxin-covered worms? Here’s what you should do New to that list are Michigan, North Carolina, and Rhode Island. Dead lanternflies ...