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Judge in Alaska upholds Biden administration’s approval of the Willow oil-drilling project

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:40 GMT

A federal judge on Thursday upheld the Biden administration’s approval of the massive Willow oil-drilling project on Alaska’s remote North Slope, a decision that environmental groups swiftly vowed to fight.U.S. District Court Judge Sharon Gleason rejected requests by a grassroots Iñupiat group and environmentalists to vacate the project approval, and she dismissed their claims against Willow, which is in the federally designated National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska. The administration’s approval of Willow in March drew the ire of environmentalists who accused the president of backpedaling on his pledge to combat climate change.The company behind the project, ConocoPhillips Alaska, has the right to develop its leases in the reserve “subject to reasonable restrictions and mitigation measures imposed by the federal government,” Gleason wrote. She added that the alternatives analyzed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management as part of its review were consistent with the policy objective...

Celtics’ Joe Mazzulla on NBA’s In-Season Tournament: ‘It’s one of 82’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:40 GMT

Kristaps Porzingis is personally excited about the NBA’s inaugural In-Season Tournament, but when asked Friday if it’s a topic of conversation within the Celtics locker room, the big man paused before revealing the truth.“Honestly? No,” Porzingis said with a smirk.The Celtics began in-season tournament play Friday at TD Garden with their first game of group play against the Nets, and they’ll play three more games in their group over the next three weeks – at Toronto on Nov. 17, at Orlando on Nov. 24 and home against Chicago on Nov. 28. The winners of the six groups across the league plus two wild-card teams will advance to the quarterfinal knockout round before the semifinals and championship that will be played in Las Vegas.All in-season tournament games except the championship game will count toward the regular season standings. The in-season tournament idea – which is common in European sports leagues and especially in soccer – has been met with a mix of excitement and skepticism...

Biden and Chinese President Xi will meet Wednesday

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:40 GMT

President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping will meet Wednesday in California for talks on trade, Taiwan and fraught U.S.-Chinese relations in the first engagement in a year between the leaders of the world’s two biggest economies.The White House has said for weeks that it anticipated Biden and Xi would meet on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in San Francisco, but negotiations went down to the eve of the gathering, which kicks off Saturday.White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement the leaders would discuss the “continued importance of maintaining open lines of communication” and how the they “can continue to responsibly manage competition and work together where our interests align, particularly on transnational challenges that affect the international community.”China’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement Friday that Xi would attend APEC from Tuesday to Friday at Biden’s invitation and would take part in the U.S...

Ticker: Wall Street rallies and adds to its strong gains in November

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:40 GMT

Wall Street rose sharply to add to an already strong November, which is on track to be one of the market’s best months of the year. The S&P 500 jumped 1.6% Friday in a widespread rally that lifted everything from Big Tech behemoths to the smallest, money-losing companies.The Dow gained 391 points, and the Nasdaq rose 2%. Stocks climbed as markets recovered from the prior day’s slump, triggered in part by worries about additional hikes to interest rates by the Federal Reserve. Bets diminished for a December hike by the Fed, even though a report in the morning showed inflation expectations on the rise.Tesla faces strikes in Sweden unless it signs a collective bargaining agreementPressure is growing on Tesla in Sweden, where a trade union is demanding that the Texas-based automaker sign a collective bargaining agreement, which most employees in the Scandinavian country have.Tesla has no manufacturing plant in Sweden, but 130 members of the powerful metalworkers’ union IF Meta...

El Cajon police investigating allegations of sexual assault at Granite Hills High

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:40 GMT

EL CAJON, Calif. — El Cajon police are investigating after a student was allegedly sexually assaulted by another student at Granite Hills High School on Wednesday.School officials notified the campus community and families of the incident, which occurred after school hours, and the subsequent investigation in a letter on Thursday. No additional details about the incident have been confirmed by ECPD to FOX 5 at this time, including whether the student was taken into custody by authorities.In the letter, Dr. Christina Wilde, principal at Granite Hills High School, said that the school is working closely with law enforcement as investigators continue to look into the allegations, and will provide the victim with "all the support we can." Mother Goose Parade in El Cajon cancels for fourth consecutive year "I’m sorry to have to bring you this news," Wilde continued in the letter to families. "However, nothing is more important than the safety of our students, so I wanted to make sure o...

Louisiana lawmakers have until Jan. 15 to enact new congressional map, court says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:40 GMT

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — The Louisiana Legislature has until Jan. 15 to enact a new congressional map after a lower court last year ruled that the current political boundaries dilute the power of the state’s Black voters, a federal New Orleans appeals court said Friday. However, whether current Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards will call a special session to redraw the political boundaries and if Republican Gov.-elect Jeff Landry, who will be inaugurated Jan. 8, will have enough time to call a special redistricting session and meet the court’s deadline has yet to be determined. If the Legislature does not pass a new map by mid-January, then the lower district court should conduct a trial and “decide on a plan for the 2024 elections,” according to the order by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth District.The political tug-of-war and legal battle over Louisiana’s GOP-drawn congressional map has been going on for more than a year and a half — which has included Edwards vetoing the po...

Feds, lawyers in First Nations child-welfare case reach $55M deal over legal fees

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:40 GMT

OTTAWA — The federal government and the class-action lawyers who worked on a historic settlement over First Nations child welfare have reached a $55-million deal over legal fees.The Federal Court approved a landmark $23-billion settlement last month to compensate more than 300,000 First Nations children and their families for chronic underfunding of on-reserve child-welfare services.The class-action lawsuit settlement came after a years-long battle with the federal government, which included a 2016 Canadian Human Rights Tribunal decision that the underfunding was discriminatory, and a 2019 ruling awarding $40,000 in compensation for each affected person.The proposed agreement reached today, not yet approved by the Federal Court, would see five firms receive $50 million in legal fees, plus $5 million for ongoing work to implement the settlement — with none of that money coming from the money earmarked for compensation.The lawyers involved in the class-action suit had initially argued...

Several people shot on Interstate 59 in Alabama, police say

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:40 GMT

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Multiple people were shot Friday on Interstate 59 southbound in Birmingham, Alabama, police said.Emergency crews were on the scene of the shooting near the 20th Street Ensley exit, Birmingham Police confirmed in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. No details were released on the exact number of victims, their condition or what sparked the gunfire.Birmingham Fire officials told WVTM-TV that at least two people were transported to an area hospital for treatment. All southbound lanes of the roadway were closed until further notice, authorities said.The Associated Press

Veteran honored for his heroics during Colorado night club shooting

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:40 GMT

Nearly a year ago, a Colorado Springs nightclub became the scene of another American mass shooting. One that was stopped short, in part, because of the actions of U.S. veteran.Rich Fierro is retired U.S. Army Major. He served four tours in his 15 years, three in Iraq another in Afghanistan.He was inside Club Q in Colorado Springs the night a gunman came in November 19, 2022.“Everybody was wounded and it was everywhere,” he said.Fierro was there with his wife jess, his daughter Kassie, her boyfriend Ray supporting one of Kassie's best friends.Nineteen people were injured.  Ray was one of five people killed in the attack.“It just changes you forever. Period,” Fierro said. More Coverage: Veterans Voices It's a night that Fierro and his family are still working to process. Not only because they went through --- but for what he did that night. Because when the shooter, armed with a 9 mm pistol and AR-rifle came in to that LGBTQ nightclub, he and two others rushed toward the 2...

Boot camp in Des Plaines offers veterans a pathway to new career

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:40 GMT

DES PLAINES, Ill. — Getting a new lease on life – that’s the mission of a back-to-work boot camp for veterans in Des Plaines. Vania Veit emigrated to the US from Mexico in the early 2000s. After serving in Iraq, she left the Marines and got a bachelor's in science and biology. But she says missing the military led her to join the Air Force and become a military medic. Still serving in the reserves, Veit married and had four daughters. After deciding she wanted something new, she heard about the veterans' boot camp and went all in. Now, she says she is ready for the next challenge.  Veteran’s Voices: WWII pilot Ed McGuire’s long journey home to Chicago “We do have lots of skills that any recruiter can appreciate,” Veit said. “But sometimes it's hard to put that into a resume, translating those skills.” That’s where Andrea Biwer and Marne Deithorn come in – running their boot camp, which graduated its first class seven years ago. “We were hearing from t...