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Struggles continue for thousands in Florida 8 months after Hurricane Ian as new storm season looms

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:56:22 GMT

FORT MYERS BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Eight months ago, chef Michael Cellura had a restaurant job and had just moved into a fancy new camper home on Fort Myers Beach. Now, after Hurricane Ian swept all that away, he lives in his older Infiniti sedan with a 15-year-old long-haired chihuahua named Ginger.Like hundreds of others, Cellura was left homeless after the Category 5 hurricane blasted the barrier island last September with ferocious winds and storm surge as high as 15 feet (4 meters). Like many, he’s struggled to navigate insurance payouts, understand federal and state assistance bureaucracy and simply find a place to shower.“There’s a lot of us like me that are displaced. Nowhere to go,” Cellura, 58, said during a recent interview next to his car, sitting in a commercial parking lot along with other storm survivors housed in recreational vehicles, a converted school bus, even a shipping container. “There’s a lot of homeless out here, a lot of people living in tents,...

At least 1 dead after violent 2-car crash in Pomona

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:56:22 GMT

At least one person was killed after a violent two-car crash in Pomona Sunday night, authorities announced.  Calls about the crash near the intersection of East Bonita Avenue and North Garey Avenue came in just before 9 p.m., according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department.  At the scene, firefighters found two people trapped in their vehicle and requested additional ambulances. At least one person was taken to the hospital.  Video of the wreckage showed severe damage to both vehicles, one of which had overturned. First responders on the scene of a fatal two-car crash in Pomona on May 28, 2023. (Key News)Wreckage seen to two vehicles after crash in Pomona May 28, 2023 (Key News)Wreckage seen to two vehicles after crash in Pomona May 28, 2023 (Key News)Details about the crash are limited, but authorities said that Garey Avenue will be completely shut down between Bonita and Harrison avenues while the Pomona Police Department investigates. Motorists were encouraged ...

Japón advierte que destruirá cualquier misil norcoreano que entre en su territorio

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:56:22 GMT

(CNN) — El Ministerio de Defensa de Japón advirtió este lunes que destruirá cualquier misil norcoreano que entre en su territorio, después de que Pyongyang notificara al país sus planes de lanzar un “satélite” entre el 31 de mayo y el 11 de junio.“Tomaremos medidas destructivas contra los misiles balísticos y de otro tipo que se confirme que aterrizan en nuestro territorio”, dijo el Ministerio de Defensa de Japón en un comunicado.El secretario jefe del Gabinete japonés, Hirokazu Matsuno, también declaró este lunes que cualquier lanzamiento de misiles norcoreanos disfrazado de “satélite” es una “amenaza” para la seguridad del país.Si Corea del Norte sigue adelante con su plan de lanzar un misil, violaría las resoluciones del Consejo de Seguridad de la ONU y sería una “grave provocación”, declaró Matsuno a los periodistas.Corea del Norte asegura que está lista para lanzar el primer satélite espía, reportan medios estata...

Former Steelers, Jets running back Le’Veon Bell says he smoked marijuana before games

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:56:22 GMT

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Former Pittsburgh Steelers and New York Jets running back Le’Veon Bell says he smoked marijuana before playing some NFL games during his career.“That’s what I did,” Bell told Barstool Sports’ “Steel Here” podcast which was published Friday. “When I was playing football, I smoked, bro. Even before the games, I’d smoke and I’d go out there and run for 150 (yards), two (touchdowns).”Jersey Jerry, who co-hosts the podcast with Kevin Adams, then asked: “In the NFL?”“Yeah,” said the 31-year-old Bell, who hasn’t played in the league since the 2021 season.Bell was suspended twice for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy while he played for the Steelers. He began his professional career in Pittsburgh in 2013 and became one of the league’s most dynamic and productive players. Bell was a one-time All-Pro and three-time Pro Bowl selection as a dual threat out of the Steelers’ backfield.He sat out the 2018 season because of a cont...

French Open 2023: Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz ready to get started at Roland Garros

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:56:22 GMT

PARIS (AP) — Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic, two men expected to go far at the French Open, make their 2023 Roland Garros debuts on Monday against a pair of opponents who never have played a Grand Slam match.Alcaraz, a 20-year-old from Spain ranked No. 1 who won the U.S. Open in September, faces Flavio Cobolli, an Italian who is ranked 159th. Djokovic, who won two of his 22 major championships in Paris, takes on Aleksander Kovacevic, an American ranked 114th.Asked to compare the Alcaraz of today to the Alcaraz of a year ago, his coach, 2003 French Open champion Juan Carlos Ferrero, began by saying: “As a person, I would say he’s more mature.”And then Ferrero added: “As a player, I think he grows up, like, super fast on the court. He can, let’s say, read the matches a little bit better.”Djokovic begins his bid to break the men’s record he currently shares with Rafael Nadal by earning Grand Slam trophy No. 23. Djokovic also can become the only man with at least three titles f...

Four dead after tourist boat capsizes in storm on Italian lake

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:56:22 GMT

MILAN (AP) — Italian firefighters said Monday that they have recovered four bodies from a northern Italian lake after a tourist boat capsized in a sudden, violent storm.Divers searched overnight after a whirlwind overturned the boat carrying more than 20 tourists and crew Sunday evening. The final body was recovered early Monday.Firefighters said 19 people were saved. Many reportedly managed to swim to shore, or were picked up by other boats.Firefighter video released Sunday showed pieces of wood floating in the lake as a helicopter flew overhead.The whirlwind was part of a storm system that hit Lombardy Sunday evening, forcing delays at Milan’s Malpensa airport.The Associated Press

Historic acquittal in Louisiana fuels fight to review ‘Jim Crow’ verdicts

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:56:22 GMT

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Evangelisto Ramos walked out of a New Orleans courthouse and away from a life sentence accompanying a 10-2 jury conviction, thanks in large part to the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision bearing his name. Ramos v. Louisiana outlawed nonunanimous jury convictions as unconstitutional, with justices on the 6-3 majority acknowledging the practice as a vestige of racism from the era of “Jim Crow” laws enforcing racial segregation.The 2020 ruling meant a new trial for Ramos, who was acquitted in March — this time by a unanimous jury — after defense lawyers highlighted weakness in the investigation leading to his prosecution.“I knew my case was important because a lot of people were going to get their freedom back,” Ramos, a Black immigrant from Honduras, told The Associated Press, answering emailed questions about his time in prison and his pursuit of a new trial. But prospects for freedom remain murky for hundreds of people convicted on 10-2 or 11-1 jury votes whose ...

Sleepless in Kyiv: Nighttime Russian air campaign terrorizes citizens in Ukrainian capital

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:56:22 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The attacks come at night, when most in Kyiv are sound asleep. The sirens wail across the Ukrainian capital, rousing bleary-eyed residents, who, after 15 months of war, have customized individual routines to cope with Russia’s latest air campaign.In the recent escalation of Russian attacks, Olha Bukhno, 65, a cleaner, says a prayer every night. “Please,” she asks, closing her eyes and addressing the heavens, “Let it be quiet.”By her bedside is a bag packed full of essentials: documents, dry foods and water. At the sound of the alarm, she dashes downstairs to her building’s basement and takes shelter. Nearly two weeks ago, debris from a shot-down missile landed on the roof of a building next to hers in Kyiv’s Darnytsia district, causing a large fire.“Every night, we are afraid,” she said, tearing up.When the alarm blares, some in the city are consumed by fear, imagining the worst-case scenarios that could unfold; displacement, being trapped under rubble, being ki...

Nepal honors Sherpa guides, climbers to mark 70th anniversary of Mount Everest conquest

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:56:22 GMT

KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — Nepal’s government honored record-holding climbers Monday during celebrations of the first ascent of Mount Everest 70 years ago.Hundreds of people from the mountaineering community, Sherpa guides and officials attended a rally in Kathmandu to mark the anniversary. Participants waved celebratory banners and walked in the center of Kathmandu to tunes played by military bands.Among those honored were Sherpa guides Kami Rita, who climbed the world’s highest mountain twice this season for a record 28 times overall, and Sanu Sherpa, who has climbed all of the world’s 14 highest peaks twice. Hari Budha Magar, who became the first double above-the-knee amputee to climb Everest, was also honored by the country’s Tourism Minister Sushila Sirpali Thakuri.“May 29 is a day when we all always remember and be proud of when Edmund Hillary and Tenzing (Norgay) Sherpa reached the top of Everest and it is the day the Sherpas became known,” Sanu She...

Drought-struck Barcelona quenches thirst with costly desalination

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:56:22 GMT

EL PRAT DE LLOBREGAT, Spain (AP) — Where once the population of Barcelona drank mostly from its rivers and wells, Spain’s second city now relies upon a labyrinth-like mesh of green, blue and purple pipes inside an industrial plant to keep it from going thirsty amid a prolonged drought.Water is pumped from two kilometers (1.2 miles) into the Mediterranean Sea to where the Llobregat desalination plant sits on an isolated stretch of beach. After journeying through several cleaning and filtering systems it reaches its final stop: the twisting and turning multi-colored channels that squeeze every drop of water free of its salt.Barely used after being built in 2009, Europe’s largest desalination plant for drinking water is running at full throttle to help the greater Barcelona area and some five million people adapt to the impact of climate change, which has contributed to the drying up of southern Europe’s fresh water reserves through heat waves and drought.In April 2021, before th...