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China’s exports, imports fell 6.2% in September as global demand faltered

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:15 GMT

HONG KONG (AP) — China’s exports and imports both fell in September from a year earlier, though they contracted at a slower pace even as global demand remained muted.Customs data released Friday showed exports for September slid 6.2% to $299.13 billion in the fifth straight month of decline. Imports also slid 6.2% to $221.43 billion.China posted a trade surplus of $77.71 billion, up from $68.36 billion in August.The Associated Press

Japan’s government asks a court to revoke the legal religious status of the Unification Church

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:15 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s government asked a court Friday to revoke the legal status of the Unification Church after an Education Ministry investigation concluded the group for decades has systematically manipulated its followers into donating money, sowing fear and harming their families.The request submitted to the Tokyo District Court asks for it to issue a dissolution order revoking the church’s status as a religious organization. Education Ministry officials submitted 5,000 pieces of documents and evidence in cardboard boxes to the court to support its request. The process involves hearings and appeals from both sides and would take a while. If the order is approved and its legal status is stripped, the church could still operate but would lose its tax exemption privilege as a religious organization and would face financial setbacks.The request was made a day after Education Minister Masahito Moriyama announced a panel of experts had endorsed the revocation request based on th...

911 calls from deadly Lahaina wildfire show residents’ terror and panic in a desperate bid to escape

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:15 GMT

LAHAINA, Hawaii (AP) — Audio of 911 calls from a deadly August wildfire released late Thursday by Maui County authorities reveal a terrifying and chaotic scene as the inferno swept through the historic town of Lahaina and residents called for help as they desperately tried to escape burning homes and gridlocked traffic as flames approached.The 911 calls were released to The Associated Press in response to a public record request. They cover a two-hour period from 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. on the afternoon of Aug. 8 as the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century, whipped by powerful winds, bore down on the town. At least 98 people died in the blaze and more than 2,000 structures were destroyed, most of them homes. The pleas for help came one right after another, people calling because they were stuck in cars on Front Street, trapped by fallen trees blocking evacuation routes or worried about loved ones who were home alone. Again and again, overwhelmed dispatchers apologized to ca...

Castellanos hits 2 homers, powers Phillies past Braves 3-1 and into NLCS for 2nd straight season

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:15 GMT

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Nick Castellanos became the first player to hit multiple homers in consecutive postseason games, sending the Philadelphia Phillies to a 3-1 victory in Game 4 of their NL Division Series on Thursday night that knocked the 104-win Atlanta Braves out of the playoffs for the second straight year.Matt Strahm struck out pinch-hitter Vaughn Grissom with runners at the corners to clinch the series and send the Phillies rushing the field in wild celebration. The Phillies set off fireworks, the Liberty Bell rang and the reigning National League champions were ready to pop bubbly again.Bryce Harper gave the Phillies a scare when he clutched his surgically repaired right elbow after a collision in the eighth inning. Matt Olson’s left knee clipped Harper’s elbow on a play at first base that ended the inning. Harper, the two-time NL MVP, flexed his elbow after a quick examination from the medical staff. He stayed in the game in the ninth.“Just hit my funny bone,” H...

Mahomes throws TD pass, Kelce has big game with Swift watching again as Chiefs beat Broncos 19-8

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:15 GMT

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Patrick Mahomes threw for 306 yards and a touchdown, Harrison Butker kicked four field goals, and the Kansas City Chiefs held off the Denver Broncos 19-8 on Thursday night for their 16th straight win over their longtime AFC West rivals.Travis Kelce had nine catches for 124 yards for Kansas City with Taylor Swift again cheering him on from an Arrowhead Stadium suite. But the Chiefs (5-1) leaned more heavily on their defense to shut down erratic Russell Wilson and the Broncos (1-5).Wilson was held to 95 yards passing with a touchdown and a pair of interceptions, and woebegone Denver finished with just 197 yards of total offense.Still, the Chiefs’ inability to turn red-zone trips into touchdowns nearly cost them.Butker’s first three field goals helped them to a 16-0 lead, but Wilson’s touchdown pass to Courtland Sutton — ruled incomplete but overturned upon review — with about six minutes remaining kept the Broncos alive. And when Javonte Willi...

‘Shame on you’: GTA woman’s message to feds after fleeing Israel

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:15 GMT

It was an emotional reunion at Pearson Airport for Antonella Barrasso as she embraced her family and friends after 30 hours of travel which included two flights and six days of desperately trying to flee Israel in the wake of the deadly attack by Hamas over the weekend.“Every time I wanted to go to the airport, something would happen and I couldn’t go,” she tells CityNews, recounting one instance where air-raid sirens began to wail just as she was getting into a taxi, forcing her to seek shelter in a nearby stairwell.Her friends back home encouraged her to get to the airport where they found her a flight home.“We had booked her on several different flights because so many were getting canceled,” said Nilab Jafarzadeh. “So at one point we had a personal flight booked for her to Athens. She missed the flight to Athens. So we booked her another flight while she was in line.”Barasso’s arrival comes as the first Canadian evacuation flights were completed Thursday with two Can...

Project Dynamo helping rescue people stuck in Israel - Hamas war

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:15 GMT

CHICAGO — The number of Americans confirmed dead in the Israel-Hamas war has risen to at least 25 and another 17 are unaccounted for. Many more remain trapped in the region. Blinken in Israel: At least 25 Americans killed in ‘heinous’ Hamas attacks Major airlines stopped operations from Israel earlier this week. Since then, travelers have been scrambling to get out of the war-torn country.The Biden administration said the US will begin sending flights out of Israel starting Friday. But a non-profit group is on the ground now working to get Americans to safety. Israeli officials said air strikes and a possible ground invasion would continue until Hamas militants freed some 150 hostages. "This is the fourth war zone that Project Dynamo has been deployed to in 24 months," Bryan Stern said. "So far, we haven't seen the State Department do that well if at all in the other four war zones that we have worked in."Stern, the co-found of Project Dynamo, said the non-profit works to rescue a...

After brief escape, Kaitlin Armstrong medical records, surveillance footage sought before murder trial

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:15 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) – A few weeks before her murder trial begins, prosecutors are trying to get Kaitlin Armstrong’s medical records, as well as surveillance footage from the night before she attempted to flee from corrections officers, according to court filings obtained by KXAN investigators.Armstrong is accused of killing professional cyclist Moriah Wilson in Austin in May 2022. The trial is set for Oct. 30.On Wednesday morning, Armstrong led two Travis County corrections officers on a 10-minute foot chase through a south Austin neighborhood before being apprehended. The Travis County Sheriff’s Office confirmed Armstrong ran away from the officers while leaving a doctor’s appointment at a medical office building. BACKGROUND: Kaitlin Armstrong attempts escape ahead of Austin murder trial; will face additional charges KXAN investigators obtained a subpoena filed by the state on Wednesday, requesting Armstrong’s medical records from St. David’s South Austin Medical Center, which is locat...

What causes 'near misses' at airports?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:15 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — The National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) issued a press release Wednesday evening stating that chronic staffing shortages within the National Airspace Systems (NAS) are "not sustainable" and possibly to blame for near miss events."Currently, there are 1,200 fewer fully certified controllers than there were 10 years ago," the NATCA statement reads, "The effect of that mandatory overtime has been very difficult to the controller workforce on a personal level, denying them time with their families that other Americans take for granted and increasing stress and fatigue in a profession that is already one of the most stressful."The statement comes after reporting by The New York Times about a February near miss at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. February: Austin airport plane incident under Federal Aviation Administration investigation A "near miss event," according to a Merriam-Webster post, refers to proximity of two objects and not the probabi...

Plan to let Texas parents use public funds to pay for private schools gets preliminary approval

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:15 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- The plan to let Texas parents use public funds to pay for private schools cleared a key hurdle Thursday evening.Senate Bill 1 would allocate $500 million toward the creation of an education savings account program, which was the primary education policy request on Gov. Greg Abbott’s agenda for this third special session. Texas Senate unveils its priority school voucher-like legislation The funding comes from Texas’ general revenue and would be available for eligible pre-K through 12 school-aged children. Families of eligible students would receive $8,000 each year that they are enrolled in the program in an account. In order to qualify, they must have attended public school within the last year or are about to enter pre-K or kindergarten for the first time.Texas Senators gave preliminary approval to a bill to establish an Education Savings Account program.Opponents earlier this week expressed concern that creating such a program will take away funding from public ...