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A gantry has collapsed at the construction site of a bridge in India, killing at least 17 workers

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:50:47 GMT

GUWAHATI, India (AP) — A gantry at a railroad bridge being built in northeastern India collapsed Wednesday, killing at least 17 workers and injuring several others, police said.The gantry collapsed at a bridge in Sairang, a town on the outskirts of Aizawal, the capital of Mizoram state, according to the police control room. The bridge has been under construction for nearly two years.People living nearby rescued injured workers and rushed them to hospital, police said. Rescuers from the government-run National Disaster Response Force also rushed to the scene to search for survivors.Railroad authorities are investigating the cause of the collapse. There were 40 workers at the site when the accident happened, the police said.India’s transport infrastructure has long been marred by safety concerns, sometimes leading to major disasters on its highways and bridges.In October last year, a century-old cable suspension bridge collapsed into a river in the western Indian state of Gujarat, sen...

Put your records on! Corinne Bailey Rae plays new album ‘Black Rainbows’ at DC’s Lincoln Theatre

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:50:47 GMT

Hear our full chat on my podcast “Beyond the Fame with Jason Fraley.” toggle audio on and off change volume download audio WTOP's Jason Fraley previews Corinne Bailey Rae at DC's Lincoln Theatre (Part 1) $(function () { $('.wtop-audio-container .fa-play').on('click', function(){ var audio_filename = $('div.wtop-audio-file').data("mp3-url"); ga('send', 'event', 'Audio', 'play', audio_filename); }); }); Corinne Bailey Rae is no stranger to the nation’s capital, having performed at the White House for Paul McCartney in 2010, followed by DAR Constitution Hall for Smokey Robinson’s Gershwin Prize in 2016.“I abs...

Trump supporters view the latest indictment as evidence of a crime — against Trump

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:50:47 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former President Donald Trump and his supporters are reacting to a third indictment against him with a now-familiar playbook: deflecting with unrelated accusations, distracting with misleading claims about the charges, and demonizing the prosecution.Instead of convincing his followers about the seriousness of the charges, Tuesday’s indictment is being held up as proof of a conspiracy to take down the Republican ex-president and a continuation of the effort by Democrats, the media and the so-called deep state to interfere with the nation’s elections.For years Trump has told his supporters that elections can’t be trusted and that he is a victim of a corrupt persecution by the government and media. With that narrative endorsed by conservative news outlets and amplified on social media, it’s only natural that many of Trump’s supporters will accept it, said Ruth Ben-Ghiat, a New York University historian who studies authoritarian propaganda.“He’s set up the idea since 2...

Out of the blue: Excerpts from police discipline database

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:50:47 GMT

From shooting themselves in the hand while selling a gun to eavesdropping on a police chief’s private phone call, here are a few weird and disturbing misconduct violations found in the state’s database of Massachusetts police disciplinary records.More than 3,400 records were released Tuesday by the Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission, the state body tasked with regulating and licensing law enforcement in Massachusetts. Hundreds are already being challenged by the Springfield Police Department.The database offers the public a look at alleged incidents of bias, use of excessive force, untruthfulness, criminal charges, and a plethora of other incidents that fall under the “other category.”The following is a selection from the 3,413 entries:Nice shotA Millbury Police Department officer apparently needed to work on their aim and gun safety skills in November 2012. “Engaging in personal business on duty,” state records said. “Selling a personal firearm and while doing so, shot...

OBF: Mookie Betts trade looking worse for Red Sox with each passing day

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:50:47 GMT

Mookie.The one-time face of the Red Sox franchise returns Friday to Fenway Park.Mookie Betts stands alongside Babe Ruth, Carlton Fisk, Sparky Lyle, Reggie Smith, Jeff Bagwell, Roger Clemens, Dennis Eckersley, Waite Hoyt and Jackie Robinson (look it up) as among the greats who got away.Fittingly, Betts triggered the Great Exodus.Betts and David Price were shipped to SoCal on Feb. 11, 2020, in exchange for three players and Competitive Balance Tax relief.Five weeks later, Tom Brady informed the world he was setting sail for Tampa Bay.Rob Gronkowski soon followed.So did Julian Edelman.And Zdeno Chara.With time, Xander Bogaerts, Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci, Devin McCourty and Dont’a Hightower joined the departed.Dozens of championships exited with the passage of time and tightening of wallets.A herd of GOATs and other prize-winning livestock being driven across the plains to Montana by the Dutton family.The sheep?They were left behind in Boston.In the wake of the Betts trade, s...

Teenager rescued with 7 others from a broken cable car over a Pakistan gorge says it was a miracle

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:50:47 GMT

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — The rescue of six school children and two adults who were plucked from a broken cable car that was dangling precariously hundreds of meters (yards) above a steep gorge was a miracle, a survivor said Wednesday. The teenager said he and the others felt repeatedly that death was imminent during the 16-hour ordeal.The eight passengers were pulled from the cable car in several rescue attempts Tuesday. One of the youngest children was grabbed by a commando attached to a helicopter by rope. A video of the rescue shows the rope swaying wildly as the child, secured by a harness, is pulled into the helicopter.Because helicopters could not fly after sunset, rescuers constructed a makeshift chairlift from a wooden bed frame and ropes and approached the cable car using the one cable that was still intact, local police chief Nazir Ahmed said. In the final stage of the risky operation, just before midnight Tuesday, rescuers and volunteers pulled a rope to lower the chairl...

China, Russia and other emerging economies turn to main summit agenda in South Africa

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:50:47 GMT

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Leaders of some of the developing world’s most important economies turned Wednesday to the main business of their summit in South Africa, a day after a speech by Russian President Vladimir Putin gave the gathering an anti-Western tinge that officials had been hoping to avoid.The BRICS group of emerging economies made up of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa are debating whether to expand their bloc and allow in new members more than a decade after it came into existence.More than 20 countries have formally applied to join the group, officials say, with Saudi Arabia one of the most significant.Four of the bloc’s leaders are in Johannesburg for the group’s first in-person meeting since the COVID-19 pandemic, including Chinese President Xi Jinping. Putin is not attending after an International Criminal Court arrest warrant for him over the war in Ukraine complicated his travel to South Africa, but he was participating virtually.The Russi...

Construction platform at railroad bridge being built in India collapses, killing at least 26 workers

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:50:47 GMT

GUWAHATI, India (AP) — A construction platform at a railroad bridge being built in northeastern India collapsed Wednesday, killing at least 26 workers and injuring two others, an official said.The gantry collapsed at a bridge in Sairang, a town on the outskirts of Aizawal, the capital of Mizoram state, according to the police control room. The bridge has been under construction for nearly two years.State Transport Minister T.J. Lalnuntluanga, who is at the site, said 18 bodies have been recovered while eight other bodies have been located and are being pulled out of the debris by rescuers.People living in a village near the construction site rushed to rescue injured workers and took them to hospital, police said. Rescuers from the government-run National Disaster Response Force also hurried to the scene to search for survivors.Railroad authorities are investigating the cause of the collapse. Earlier, police said there were 40 workers at the site when the platform collapsed.IndiaR...

Surprisingly durable US economy poses key question: Are we facing higher-for-longer interest rates?

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:50:47 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — A year ago, Chair Jerome Powell delivered a stark warning: To fight persistently high inflation, the Federal Reserve would continue to sharply raise interest rates, bringing “some pain” in the form of job losses and weaker economic growth.Since Powell spoke at last summer’s annual conference of central bankers in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, the Fed has followed through, raising its benchmark rate to 5.4%, its highest level in 22 years. Substantially higher loan rates have followed, making it harder for Americans to afford a home or a car or for businesses to finance expansions.Yet so far, broadly speaking, not much pain has arrived.Instead, the economy has powered ahead. Hiring has remained healthy, confounding legions of economists who had forecast that the spike in rates would cause widespread layoffs and a recession. The unemployment rate is near a half-century low. Consumer spending keeps growing at a healthy rate.As Powell and other central bankers return to ...

A tanker collision disrupts traffic at Egypt’s Suez Canal, authorities say

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:50:47 GMT

CAIRO (AP) — Two tankers carrying oil products and liquefied natural gas collided in the Suez Canal, disrupting traffic through the global waterway, Egyptian authorities said Wednesday. The Suez Canal authority said in a statement that the BW Lesmes, a Singapore-flagged tanker that carries liquefied natural gas, suffered a mechanical malfunction on Tuesday night and ran aground while transiting through the canal. The Burri, a Cayman Island-flagged oil products tanker, collided with the broken vessel.The collision disrupted traffic, the statement said. The two tanker were part of a convoy transiting through from the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea.“We’ve immediately handled the breakdowns … and traffic will go back to normal in both directions within the coming hours,” said Adm. Ossama Rabei, the head of the canal authority, in the statement.About 10% of world trade flows through the canal, a major source of foreign currency for the Egyptian government.In March 2021, the Panam...