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French ballooning team goes the distance to finish ahead in prestigious long-distance race

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:59 GMT

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Spending more than three and a half days aloft and traveling more than 1,653 miles (2,660 kilometers), a French ballooning team has traveled the farthest in the world’s oldest and most prestigious air race. Pilots Eric Decellières and Benoît Havret landed just shy of the North Carolina coast Wednesday after having launched from an annual balloon fiesta in Albuquerque on Saturday night along with 15 other teams representing nine countries.Organizers of the Gordon Bennett Cup said Decellières and Havret surpassed a German team by about 46 miles (74 kilometers) to take the lead. The unofficial results will have to be confirmed by a jury of ballooning experts.The balloonists spend days in the air, carrying everything they need to survive at high altitudes as they search for the right combination of wind currents to push their baskets as far as they can go.Their hydrogen-filled balloons fly throughout the night and into the next day, with pilots trading off so...

French troops are starting to withdraw from Niger and junta leaders give UN head 72 hours to leave

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:59 GMT

COTONOU, Benin (AP) — French troops have started leaving Niger more than two months after mutinous soldiers toppled the African country’s democratically elected president, the military said Wednesday. More than 100 personnel left in two flights from the capital Niamey on Tuesday in the first of what will be several rounds of departures between now and the end of the year, said a French military spokesman, Col. Pierre Gaudilliere. All are returning to France, he said. Niger’s state television broadcast images of a convoy leaving a base in Ouallam in the north, saying it was bound for neighboring Chad, to the east. The departure comes weeks after French President Emmanuel Macron announced that France will end its military presence in Niger and pull its ambassador out of the country as a result of the coup that removed President Mohamed Bazoum in late July. Some 1,500 French troops have been operating in Niger, training its military and conducting joint operations.Also Tuesday, the jun...

Jill Biden recognizes 15 young women from 13 states for advocacy to improve their communities

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:59 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Fifteen young women were honored at the White House on Wednesday for their advocacy on a range of issues in their communities across the United States, from lobbying for tighter gun laws and against book bans to encouraging civic engagement and ensuring access to menstrual supplies.The issues that earned these 15 teenagers a trip to the White House are also priorities for the Biden administration, including first lady Jill Biden, who hosted the first “Girls Leading Change” event to celebrate Wednesday’s designation by President Joe Biden as International Day of the Girl. The honorees, including a pair of twins, range in age from 15 to 18 and represent 13 states.“They’re protecting and preserving our earth, writing and sharing stories that change minds, using their summer breaks to testify before their state legislature and turning their pain into purpose,” Jill Biden said. “You saw something that you knew was wrong and you decided to fix it. You represe...

Traffic resumes at Baltimore/Washington International Airport after law enforcement clears vehicle

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:59 GMT

BALTIMORE (AP) — Traffic has resumed at the Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport after a closure Wednesday afternoon while law enforcement investigated a vehicle near the terminal, officials said.People already inside the terminal were asked to remain in place for over an hour.“The terminal roadway is temporarily shut down,” airport officials had said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, a little after 3 p.m. “Vehicular traffic approaching the airport is currently being held.”In replies to the post, people said police were blocking foot traffic as well. They posted photos of gridlocked cars approaching the airport entrance. The Maryland Department of Emergency Management said Interstate 195 is closed at the Airport Boulevard exit.In another post about an hour later, airport officials said law enforcement was continuing to investigate a vehicle on a lower-level roadway near the terminal. They quickly posted again, saying the vehicle had been cleared and ...

TSX posts Wednesday gain despite lower price of oil, while U.S. markets also rise

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:59 GMT

TORONTO — Strength in the utilities, telecommunications and financial sectors helped lift Canada’s main stock index higher Wednesday, while U.S. stock markets also rose despite a stronger-than-expected report on wholesale inflation. After solid gains to start the week, Wednesday proved more volatile, said Greg Taylor, chief investment officer at Purpose Investments, with choppy trading throughout the day before markets ended in the green. “It’s kind of a confusing day,” he said. The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 162.64 points at 19,663.84.In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 65.57 points at 33,804.87. The S&P 500 index was up 18.71 points at 4,376.95,while the Nasdaq composite was up 96.83 points at 13,659.68.Energy prices moved lower Wednesday, noted Taylor, with oil declining more than two per cent. The price of oil has moved off its recent highs, from more than US$90 a barrel to less than US$84 . “I think that surprised a lot of people as people ...

Alabama woman found guilty in kidnapping hoax, will have to pay $18K in restitution

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:59 GMT

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) — Carlee Russell, a nursing student who made international news when she faked her own kidnapping in Alabama over the summer, was found guilty of the false report.During a municipal court hearing Wednesday, Judge Brad Bishop found Russell guilty of filing a false police report and falsely reporting the incident, where she reported seeing a child walking along I-459 before she went missing on July 13. On July 15, she walked back to her home in Hoover, Alabama, where she told police that she had been abducted. Timeline of Carlee Russell’s disappearance, return and the investigation However, after a days-long investigation by police, Russell admitted she had made the whole thing up. In a statement released through her attorney, Russell said she acted alone and apologized for her actions. There was speculation during the police investigation after authorities uncovered several text messages from Russell in the day leading up to her disappearance, such as “You h...

Disneyland, Disney World raise prices for some tickets, passes

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:59 GMT

(KTLA/WFLA) — The happiest and most magical places on Earth are about to be more expensive to visit: Disneyland and Disney World have raised some of their prices. Increases ranged from $15 to $150 at both parks and are effective as of October 11.Disneyland will keep its cheapest one-day ticket at $104, a Disney spokesperson said in a statement Wednesday. But others will see a hike, including the popular Magic Key annual passes.Disneyland's one-day "peak" ticket is increasing from $179 to $194. Multi-day tickets increased an average of 11 to 12 percent, with the 5-day ticket seeing the biggest increase from $415 to $480. Jada Pinkett Smith reveals Chris Rock asked her out years before Oscars slap Magic Key prices increased by $50 to $150 depending on the pass type. The top-tier Inspire Key increased from $1,599 to $1,649; the Believe Key increased from $1,099 to $1,249; the Enchant Key increased from $699 to $849; and the Imagine Key increased from $449 to $499.Disney's Genie+ ser...

Why this Bulls preseason is different than the past few decades

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:59 GMT

CHICAGO — As the Bulls get ready for the 2023-2024 season, they took a different path to get things going than in previous years. In fact, they did so a few hundred miles away in Chicago, with the hopes of building a little team chemistry before their 82-game campaign. Before embarking on a five-game preseason, which began with a loss to the Bucks on Sunday at Fiserv Forum, the team decided to take their training camp to Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee. It's a dramatic departure in Bulls' history as the team has called Chicago home for their preseason workouts for nearly the last four decades. Per NBC Sports Chicago, it's the first training camp for the team away from the city since they staged training camp at Beloit College in Wisconsin in 1985. That was prior to Michael Jordan's second season with the franchise. This year the trip to Nashville was all about team unity, something that head coach Billy Donovan believed could use just a little strengthening, especially wi...

Kaitlin Armstrong attempts escape ahead of Austin murder trial; will face additional charges

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:59 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) – Kaitlin Armstrong, the woman accused of killing professional cyclist Moriah “Mo” Wilson, attempted to escape the custody of Travis County corrections officers on Wednesday morning, sources first confirmed for KXAN.Armstrong ran from officers while leaving a medical office building around 8:17 a.m. Wednesday, according to a sheriff’s office spokesperson. After about 10 minutes, officers caught up to her and restrained her. The spokesperson said officers did not lose sight of Armstrong during the pursuit. BACKGROUND: Kaitlin Armstrong’s murder trial date moved The TCSO spokesperson said the attempted escape happened in south Austin near Second Street and Ben White Boulevard.Armstrong’s trial was set to begin Oct. 30 in Austin, where she faces a first-degree murder charge.After Wednesday morning's event, Armstrong will face additional charges. Those charges haven't been added yet, the spokesperson said.According to police, Wilson was shot and killed at a home in east...

Man who died in St. Paul motorcycle crash was 27-year-old father of twins

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:59 GMT

A man who died in a motorcycle crash in St. Paul last week has been identified by police as a 27-year-old.Officers responded to a collision in the North End at 10:30 p.m. Friday. Jonathan Garcia Alvarez, of St. Paul, was driving a motorcycle and police said preliminary information indicated he rear-ended a van at Rice Street and Cook Avenue.The van’s driver stayed at the scene and was cooperating with police in the investigation.Alvarez was the father of 4-year-old twins with his life partner. He was their family’s breadwinner and now his partner also has “to go through the agony of telling” their sons “their daddy is gone and we won’t be able to see him again,” she wrote on a fundraising site for his funeral expenses at gofundme.com/f/jonathan-jonny-garcia-alvarez.Related ArticlesCrime & Public Safety | St. Paul’s first-ever ‘Snow Summit’ aims to educate public, alley captains Crime & Public Safety ...