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SpaceX’s Starship rocket lifts off for inaugural test flight, but explodes midair

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:52:39 GMT

(CNN) — SpaceX’s Starship, the most powerful rocket ever built, took off from a launch pad on the coast of South Texas on Thursday at 9:28 a.m. ET, but exploded midair before stage separation.Thursday’s launch marked the vehicle’s historic first test flight. “As if the flight test was not exciting enough, Starship experienced a rapid unscheduled disassembly before stage separation,” SpaceX tweeted.The massive Super Heavy rocket booster, which houses 33 engines, lifted off and sent a massive boom across the coastal landscape as it fired to life. The Starship spacecraft, riding atop the booster, soared out over the Gulf of Mexico.About two and a half minutes after takeoff, the Super Heavy rocket booster was scheduled to expend most of its fuel and separate from the Starship spacecraft, leaving the booster to be discarded in the ocean. The Starship was meant to use its own engines, blazing for more than six minutes, to propel itself to nearly or...

IRS agent seeks whistleblower protections to share allegations of mishandling in Hunter Biden probe

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:52:39 GMT

(CNN) — An IRS supervisory special agent who claims to have information about alleged mishandling and political interference in the ongoing criminal probe into Hunter Biden is seeking whistleblower protections to share the information with Congress, according to a letter obtained by CNN.“Despite serious risks of retaliation, my client is offering to provide you with information necessary to exercise your constitutional oversight function and wishes to make the disclosures in a non-partisan manner to the leadership of the relevant committees on both sides of the political aisle,” Mark Lytle, an attorney for the IRS whistleblower, said in a letter to a handful of Democrats and Republicans leading committees in the House and Senate.The letter, which was first reported by the Wall Street Journal, describes the IRS agent as “overseeing the ongoing and sensitive investigation of a high-profile, controversial subject,” which a source familiar wi...

Could Victor Oladipo start after Duncan Robinson struggled in place of Tyler Herro?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:52:39 GMT

The differences in depth could not have been more stark.With Giannis Antetokounmpo out for the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday night, coach Mike Budenholzer turned to his bench and inserted Bobby Portis into his starting lineup in what turned into a 138-122 blowout victory. Such was the luxury of having available the final Eastern Conference Player of the Week for 2022-23.With Tyler Herro out for the Miami Heat with the fractured right hand sustained in his team’s series-opening Sunday victory, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra went with a player who started just one game in 2022-23. No, it did not go well with Duncan Robinson in the loss that evened the best-of-seven Eastern Conference first-round playoff series at 1-1 going into Saturday night’s Game 3 at Kaseya Center.Portis closed with 13 points, 15 rebounds and five assists in 27:57. Robinson finished with 14 points, five rebounds and five assists in 25:36, not scoring until both teams had emptied their benches in the fourth q...

San Diego among large U.S. cities with lowest crime rates, data shows

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:52:39 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- America's Finest City is also one of the safest in country, according to annual crime statistics. The San Diego Police Department announced Thursday that last year's data has revealed an overall decrease of 7.5%, which authorities say is one of the lowest violent crime rates among the nation's largest cities. Rules of the Road: California license plate rules When taking a deeper look at the data, there are annual decreases in four of the seven categories that are considered when compiling the statistics. SDPD says those violent crimes categories include homicide, rape, robbery and aggravated assault and by property crimes like burglary, theft and vehicle theft.Data shows San Diego saw decreases in both murder and rape, with a slight increase in violent crime due to upticks in robbery and aggravated assault. The statistics also show property crimes had a 9.7% decrease overall.Other decreases include hate crime reports, which went down 17.4 %, and crimes committed by g...

Michelin recalls tires that don’t have enough snow traction

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:52:39 GMT

DETROIT (AP) — Michelin is recalling more than 542,000 light truck tires in the U.S. because they don’t have enough traction to work in all snowy conditions.The recall covers certain Agilis CrossClimate C-Metric tires that Michelin says don’t meet U.S. safety standards. The tire maker says in documents posted Thursday by safety regulators that tires without sufficient traction can increase the risk of a crash. Dealers will replace the tires at no cost to owners. Owners will get interim notification letters starting June 12. They’ll get another letter once the replacements are available.The company says initial tire testing was done with the wrong tire pressure. Later tests by Michelin discovered the problem.Michelin says the tires are marked with the Alpine symbol with three mountain peaks showing they work well in snow, but are not classified as snow tires. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has posted a document with the tire sizes on its website....

Toronto’s iconic Lakeview Diner reopens — with steak and seafood on the menu

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:52:39 GMT

Few symbols have come to represent Toronto’s beloved Lakeview Restaurant as much as its signature “Always Open” neon sign out front. Though it wasn’t glowing on the day CityNews visited the recently reopened restaurant, inside there’s been quite the glow-up.“Opened 24 hours a day for 15 years straight, this place has gone to war many times,” co-owner Fadi Hakim said.The iconic west end diner’s black and white hexagon tiled flooring (which is not the original from 1932) and wood-panelled decor remain the same. But the wallpaper has been replaced with mirrors, and the entryway bar is now framed by mint green ice cream machines.“When you walk in, you see the ice cream, it hits you back to the old milkshakes and the old times at the Lakeview,” said head chef Adam Zimmerman.Eventually the joint will be retrofitted with a takeout window for ice cream and those famous milkshakes, which, yes, are coming back.Smoked Salmon, Scallion Cream Cheese, Tomato, Capers & Pickled Shal...

Activist investor puts more pressure on Parkland Fuel; will oppose incumbent board

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:52:39 GMT

CALGARY — A U.S. activist investor says it will withhold support from all of Parkland Fuel Corp.’s incumbent directors at the company’s upcoming annual meeting.New York-based Engine Capital LP, which owns about a two per cent stake in Parkland, says the Calgary-based fuel supplier and marketer has been “unresponsive” to its calls for change at the company.Engine sent a letter in March to the Parkland board criticizing the company for “underperformance” and urging the fuel retailer to consider selling or spinning off its Burnaby, B.C., refinery.In its follow-up letter on Thursday, Engine said it has met with Parkland’s CFO, but has not been offered a meeting with the company’s board as requested.Engine said it is also frustrated that Parkland has once again nominated 24-year tenured chair Jim Pantelidis to the board, despite adopting a 10-year term limit for directors.Parkland’s annual general meeting is set to take place May 4.Th...

S&P/TSX composite down as price of oil moves lower, U.S. stock markets also lower

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:52:39 GMT

TORONTO — Canada’s main stock index was down in late-morning trading, weighed down by losses in the energy sector as the price of oil fell.The S&P/TSX composite index was down 26.85 points at 20,653.98.In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 78.82 points at 33,818.19. The S&P 500 index was down 20.30 points at 4,134.22, while the Nasdaq composite was down 65.84 points at 12,091.39.The Canadian dollar traded for 74.27 cents US compared with 74.38 cents US on Wednesday.The June crude contract was down US$1.84 at US$77.40 per barrel and the May natural gas contract was down five cents at US$2.17 per mmBTU.The June gold contract was up US$5.00 at US$2,012.30 an ounce and the May copper contract was down four cents at US$4.03 a pound.This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 20, 2023.Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD=X)The Canadian Press

Court documents describe grisly discovery in Maine shootings

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:52:39 GMT

WEST BATH, Maine (AP) — A sister who discovered a crime scene in which four people were shot to death arrived to broken glass, bullet holes, blood and guns strewn about, and the suspect was later found at the scene of a highway shooting with what appeared to be blood on him, according to state police.Police found multiple cartridge casings of varying calibers in the vehicle driven by the suspect accused of firing shots at vehicles along Interstate 295 in Yarmouth, state police said.New details came to light Thursday as the suspect, Joseph Eaton, made his initial court appearance. Police say he confessed to killing four people, including his parents, in Bowdoin and wounding three people while shooting at vehicles.Police have not discussed what might have been a motive behind the shootings on a rural property in Bowdoin and then along a busy interstate highway about 12 miles (19 kilometers) from Maine’s largest city, Portland.Eaton, 34, has been jailed since his arrest Tuesday ...

IRS agent alleges Hunter Biden probe is being mishandled

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:52:39 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — An IRS special agent is seeking whistleblower protection to disclose information about what the agent alleges is mishandling of an investigation into President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, according to a letter sent to members of Congress. Mark Lytle, the attorney for the IRS whistleblower, wrote to lawmakers Wednesday that his client has information about a “failure to mitigate clear conflicts of interest in the ultimate disposition” of a criminal investigation related to the younger Biden’s taxes and whether he made a false statement in connection with a gun purchase. “Despite serious risks of retaliation, my client is offering to provide you with information necessary to exercise your constitutional oversight function and wishes to make the disclosures in a nonpartisan manner to the leadership of the relevant committees on both sides of the political aisle,” Lytle said in a letter, obtained by The Associated Press, that was sent to the chairm...