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Private flight with 2 Saudi astronauts returns from space station with Gulf of Mexico splashdown

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:09 GMT

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A private flight carrying two Saudi astronauts and other passengers returned to Earth late Tuesday night after a nine-day trip to the International Space Station.The SpaceX capsule carrying the four parachuted into the Gulf of Mexico, just off the Florida panhandle, 12 hours after undocking from the orbiting lab.The Saudi government picked up the multimillion-dollar tab for its two astronauts: Rayyanah Barnawi, a stem cell researcher who became the first Saudi woman in space; and fighter pilot Ali al-Qarni.Barnawi wiped away tears as she wrapped up her experiments and prepared to leave the space station. “Every story comes to an end and this is only the beginning of a new era for our country and our region,” she said Monday. A Knoxville, Tennessee, businessman who started a race car team, John Shoffner, paid his own way to the space station. The ticket-holders were accompanied by retired NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, who now works for the Houston company ...

UN urges Iraq to deliver on reforms and combat corruption — and backs it fight against terrorism

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:09 GMT

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. Security Council encouraged Iraq’s recently formed government to deliver on reforms and combat corruption in a resolution adopted unanimously Tuesday that backs the country’s ongoing fight against the Islamic State, al-Qaida and other terrorist groups.The resolution, which extends the U.N. political mission in Iraq for a year, welcomes last October’s confirmation by Iraq’s Council of Representatives of a new government and Cabinet led by Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani after a more than year-long political stalemate that was punctuated by outbreaks of street violence.Twenty years after the U.S. invasion toppled longtime dictator Saddam Hussein and divided the unified country in the heart of the Arab world, Iraq is still seeking stability. In 2014, lslamic State fighters seized Iraqi cities and declared a self-styled caliphate in a large swath of territory in Syria and Iraq. The group was formally declared defeated in Iraq in 2017 following a thr...

‘Irresponsible behaviour’: TTC investigating after firework set off on bus

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:09 GMT

Warning: The video shared in the article contains language that some people might find offensive. Discretion is advised.The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) says it’s investigating after video recorded the moments a group of teenagers set off a firework on a bus in broad daylight.The video was published on Twitter and began to circulate online on Tuesday. It shows a young person with a firework in hand on an occupied TTC bus.Meanwhile on the TTC… pic.twitter.com/Bo3M9eEloi— 6ixBuzzTV (@6ixbuzztv) May 30, 2023The individual then lights the firework and aims it at the back of the bus, where several people can be seen ducking and frantically trying to evade it. After a few seconds, the firework goes off in the person’s hand, and screams can be heard inside the bus.The person recording the video and many others get off the bus and flees.CityNews has not independently verified the video, but a TTC spokesperson says it is aware of the incident and has opened an investiga...

China factory activity slows, adding to economic strains

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:09 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — China’s factory activity decelerated in May, a survey showed Wednesday, adding to signs its economic rebound after the end of anti-virus controls is slowing.A monthly purchasing managers’ index issued by the national statistics agency and an industry group declined to 48.4 from April’s 49.2 on a 100-point scale on which numbers below 50 show activity declining.Chinese manufacturers have been hurt by weakening global demand after central banks in the United States, Europe and Asia raised interest rates to cool inflation.At home, Chinese consumer spending revived after anti-virus curbs on travel and business activity were lifted in December. But the recovery has been weaker than expected.Economic growth accelerated to 4.5% over a year earlier in the three months ending in March, from the previous quarter’s 2.9%. Growth will have to accelerate in coming quarters to hit the ruling Communist Party’s annual target of “around 5%.”The Associated Press

DeSantis kicks off presidential campaign in Iowa, vows to ‘fight back’ against Trump

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:09 GMT

CLIVE, Iowa (AP) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis stepped into Iowa on Tuesday for the first time as a Republican presidential candidate and stepped up to Donald Trump, vowing to “fight back” against the former president as the GOP’s 2024 campaign enters a new phase.Until now, the 44-year-old Republican governor whose slogan is “Never Back Down” had largely avoided any direct confrontation with Trump, his chief Republican rival, who has in turn unleashed a torrent of fierce attacks against DeSantis for much of the year. DeSantis was initially cautious while addressing an energetic crowd of roughly 500 gathered inside a suburban Des Moines church. But speaking to reporters afterward, he pushed back against Trump in a way he had not before on the national stage. “I’m going to fight back,” he declared, taking aim at Trump’s recent criticism of his leadership during the pandemic. “Hell, his whole family moved to Florida under my governorship. Are you kidding me?”He accused ...

Topless protester at Juno Awards pleads guilty to trespassing, agrees to pay fine

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:09 GMT

A woman who protested topless onstage at the Juno Awards in Edmonton in March says she has agreed to pay a $600 fine.Casey Hatherly, who goes by the name Ever, says she pleaded guilty to a charge of trespassing.The environmental activist, who initially faced a charge of mischief, walked onto the Junos stage while Canadian musician Avril Lavigne was introducing a performance.Messages written on the protester’s bare torso read “land back” and “save the Greenbelt,” referring to Ontario’s decision last year to open a protected area of land for housing.Hatherly says $100 of her fine will go to a victims support group.She says the timing of her fine is interesting, with the Alberta provincial election having wrapped up on Monday.“Why would I wanna give $500 to this province that literally just elected an oil lobbyist while a third of the province is on fire?” she said in a phone interview, referring to Premier Danielle Smith. “What do ...

Tennessee woman missing during cross-country trip found safe, boyfriend arrested: police

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:09 GMT

REDDING, Calif. (WKRN) – Police in Redding, California say they have found a Tennessee woman reported missing while she was on a cross-country trip with her boyfriend.According to the Redding Police Department, police in Eureka, California contacted Nikki Alcaraz and confirmed she was safe. Alcaraz was reportedly spotted in Eureka on Monday, nearly a month after she departed for a cross-country trip with her boyfriend, Tyler Stratton, and a dog to visit family in Orange County, California.Early Tuesday morning, police responded to the area and determined Alcaraz and Stratton were "together and had been at the location." Later in the day, someone reported seeing the vehicle Alcaraz and Stratton were believed to be traveling in. Officers found the vehicle and found both inside. Alcaraz reportedly told Eureka Police she did not need any assistance, according to a release from the department. Stratton was taken into custody for his outstanding warrant from Tennessee for failure to appea...

Ivan Melendez etches name in record books with 17-game hitting streak

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:09 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — After a slow start to his season for the Hillsboro Hops, former Texas Longhorns slugger Ivan Melendez is heating up.On May 24, Melendez set a franchise record for the Hops — the High Single-A affiliate for the Arizona Diamondbacks — with a 16-game hitting streak. He added three more hits the night after against the Tri-City Dust Devils to extend his record to 17, and that's where it stopped.MORE THAN THE SCORE: Stay up to date on sports stories like these, and sign up for our More than the Score sports newsletter at kxan.com/newslettersMelendez had a stretch of seven home runs in 11 games in mid-May, including four consecutive games with a homer against the Spokane Indians. The first home run of that stretch came on May 9, and it sailed a whopping 475 feet.In May, Melendez is hitting .310 with a .667 slugging percentage. When his hitting streak began on May 5, he was hitting .094 for the season. By May 28, his average jumped to a respectable .264 and he's sporting a ...

Fresh off call-up from Round Rock Express, Grant Anderson dazzles in Rangers debut

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:09 GMT

DETROIT (AP) — Reliever Grant Anderson won in an overpowering major league debut and the Texas Rangers beat the Detroit Tigers 10-6 on Tuesday night to improve to 35-19, the best record in franchise history at the one-third mark.Anderson stuck out seven of the nine batters he faced after taking over for starter Martín Pérez in the fifth inning.MORE THAN THE SCORE: Stay up to date on sports stories like these, and sign up for our More than the Score sports newsletter at kxan.com/newsletters“In all my years, I can’t think of a better debut than what he just did,” Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said. “He came into a one-run game with the tying run on second base and got eight outs — seven strikeouts. That’s just so impressive.”Texas second baseman Marcus Semien extended his hitting streak to a career-best 19 games with a fifth-inning single. Jonah Heim drove in four runs, Josh Jung homered and had three runs and Aroldis Garcia had four hits and three runs.“Our offense really came through ...

Concert review: With vocal assistance, Janet Jackson crams in her many hits at Xcel Energy Center

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:09 GMT

In the time from her 1986 breakthrough “What Have You Done for Me Lately” to her final No. 1, 2001’s “All for You,” Janet Jackson released 38 singles. Nearly every one of them made it into her set Tuesday night at St. Paul’s Xcel Energy Center. Or, parts of them, anyway.As she did at Target Center in 2015 and Treasure Island Casino four years later, Jackson went for quantity over quality. She performed shortened versions of her biggest hits and, in several cases, cut them down even further and sang them as medleys.Jackson, who turned 57 two weeks ago, kicked off her nearly two-hour show after a crowd-pleasing opening set from Atlanta rapper/actor Ludacris. She performed on a relatively sparse stage that looked like an open dance floor, with a series of large screens that changed positions through the evening. Her band, which included piped-in backing vocals, stayed mostly tucked away at the back, leaving Jackson and her four agile male dancers the focus of the show.The s...