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Two men questioned in Lebanon at Turkey’s request over 2019 escape of former Nissan tycoon

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 16:00:11 GMT

BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanese judicial authorities have questioned two people at the request of Turkey on suspicion of being involved in the 2019 escape of auto tycoon Carlos Ghosn from Japan to Lebanon, officials said Friday.The recent questioning of the two men in Beirut came a week before a hearing in Lebanon about the $1 billion lawsuit that Ghosn, formerly the president of Nissan, filed against the company and about a dozen people in Beirut over his imprisonment in Japan and what he says is Fmisinformation spread against him.The officials said one of the two men who were questioned is a Lebanese pilot who was at an airport in Istanbul when the plane carrying Ghosn from Japan landed. The pilot, officials said, denied that he got paid to help in Ghosn escape to Beirut. The Associated Press agreed to withold the pilot’s name at the request of officials. The AP has previously reported on the other man questioned, George-Antoine Zayek. He is believed to have helped a third man, forme...

Evacuation orders are in place in central Greece as a river bursts its banks and floodwaters rise

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 16:00:11 GMT

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Floodwaters were rising around one of Greece’s largest cities on Friday after a river burst its banks, while fire department and military helicopters were plucking people from villages inundated by tons of water and mud that have left at least six people dead, six missing and many people clinging to the roofs of their homes.Flooding triggered by rainstorms also hit neighboring Bulgaria and Turkey, killing a total of 18 people in all three countries since the rains began on Tuesday.In Greece, severe rainstorms that lashed the country turned streams into raging torrents that burst dams, washed away roads and bridges and hurled cars into the sea. Authorities said that some areas received twice the average annual rainfall for Athens in the space of just 12 hours.Although the rainstorms eased, evacuation orders were issued for four areas near the city of Larissa on Friday, with authorities sending alerts to cell phones in the area warning that the Pineios Rive...

Man gets 110 years for killing ex-girlfriend, her grandmother outside Indiana auto seating plant

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 16:00:11 GMT

FRANKFORT, Ind. (AP) — A man who fatally shot a former girlfriend and her grandmother outside an Indiana automotive seating plant was sentenced to 110 years in prison by a judge who called the killings “brutal and heinous.”Gary Ferrell II, 28, had avoided a possible death sentence when he pleaded guilty in April to two counts of murder in the 2021 killings of Promise Mays, 21, and Pamela Sledd, 62. He was sentenced Thursday.The Rossville women had driven to NHK Seating of America in Frankfort together and were about to start their shift on Aug. 18, 2021, when Ferrell, a fellow employee, shot them outside the business. The Frankfort man was arrested after crashing his car in a construction zone shortly after the killings.Clinton Superior Court Judge Justin H. Hunter wrote in his sentencing order that the murders were premeditated and “brutal and heinous” and noted that the two family members “watched the other being shot,” WISH-TV reported.Hunter added that Ferrell “acted out a...

Puerto Rico’s public schools clamor for air conditioning to get relief from record-breaking heat

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 16:00:11 GMT

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Public school teacher Ángel Muñiz grabbed a thermometer and thrust it into the camera as someone recorded him inside his classroom this week.“It is about 99 degrees (37 C),” he said in a video posted on social media as seven fans whirred noisily around him.It wasn’t even noon yet, and an advisory that day warned of a heat index of up to 111 F (43.8 C).Students and teachers are sweltering in public schools across Puerto Rico that lack air conditioning and are demanding government action as the U.S. Caribbean territory struggles to respond to climate change effects while it bakes under record heat this year.Last month was the hottest August on the island since record-keeping began. Puerto Rico broke the record of the daily maximum temperature six times and the highest minimum eight times, according to the National Weather Service in San Juan.It also was the hottest August worldwide, with 2023 the second hottest year on record so far.Heat advisories for Pue...

Miami Beach’s iconic Clevelander Hotel and Bar to be replaced with affordable housing development

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 16:00:11 GMT

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Plans are underway for an iconic Miami Beach hotel and bar to be replaced with a high-end restaurant and affordable housing units, the building’s owner announced.The changes being submitted soon to the city of Miami Beach include a development with 40% of the units designated as affordable and a maximum of height of 30 stories, the Jesta Group, which owns the Clevelander Hotel and Bar on Ocean Drive, said in a press release Thursday. The group also owns the adjoining Essex Hotel. The plan is allowed under Florida’s Live Local Act, which is designed to incentivize affordable housing, said Anthony O’Brien, the group’s senior managing director. Rent has skyrocketed in the last several years along Miami Beach and across much of Florida. “Since purchasing the Clevelander Hotel and Bar a few years ago, we have been proud to operate this legendary and iconic establishment in South Beach. Although we are happy to continue operating as we have...

A tour of Toronto’s ridiculous park rules

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 16:00:11 GMT

In today’s Big Story Podcast, a sign telling dogs not to bark at a dog park; a regulation prohibiting baseball players from hitting home runs; and a billboard the size of a small car to list extensive rules around enjoying a beer in a pilot project — that has been criticized for ‘encouraging’ the act it explicitly permits.There are times when the rest of Canada’s criticism of Toronto for being uptight and backwards is unfair. This is not one of those times.Ben Spurr is a reporter at the Toronto Star’s City Hall bureau. He said a lot of the time even city councillors don’t know where these rules come from.“I think these are the kind of conflicts that spring up in a city like Toronto that’s growing pretty rapidly and doesn’t have a ton of free green space these days,” said Spurr.So, what does this say more broadly about how the city manages public spaces?You can subscribe to The Big Story podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google and Spotify.You...

EU rebukes its representative in Austria over ‘blood money’ comment on Russian gas imports

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 16:00:11 GMT

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union’s executive branch strongly criticized the bloc’s representative in Austria for accusing the country of paying “blood money” to Russia for gas supplies and said Friday he has been ordered back to Brussels.EU representative Martin Selmayr said during an event on Wednesday that Austria continues to get 55% of its gas from Russia — but no one, he noted, is out on Vienna’s central Ringstrasse boulevard to protest that, the Austria Press Agency reported.“That surprises me, because blood money is being sent to Russia every day with the gas bill,” Selmayr said, according to the report. He added that he understands energy supply problems, but that Austria is a rich country and could, like other nations, do without Russian gas.Austria’s far-right opposition Freedom Party, which has led recent polls ahead of a national election next year, called on the government to demand Selmayr’s removal. On Thursday, Austria’s Foreign ...

Residents and fishermen file a lawsuit demanding a halt to the release of Fukushima wastewater

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 16:00:11 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — Fishermen and residents of Fukushima and five other prefectures along Japan’s northeastern coast filed a lawsuit Friday demanding a halt to the ongoing release of treated radioactive wastewater from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant into the sea.In the lawsuit filed with Fukushima District Court, the 151 plaintiffs, two-thirds from Fukushima and the rest from Tokyo and four other prefectures, say the discharge damages the livelihoods of the fishing community and violates residents’ right to live peacefully, their lawyers said. The release of the treated and diluted wastewater into the ocean, which began Aug. 24 and is expected to continue for several decades, is strongly opposed by fisheries groups that worry it will hurt the image of their catch even if it’s safe. Three reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant melted after a magnitude 9.0 earthquake and tsunami in 2011 destroyed its cooling systems. The plant continues to produce highly radioactive water...

Boy, 17, fatally stabbed during altercation in Sycamore; juvenile in custody

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 16:00:11 GMT

SYCAMORE, Ill. — A juvenile is in custody after a 17-year-old boy was fatally stabbed during an altercation in Sycamore.Police responded to a report of a stabbing around 6:10 p.m. Thursday in the area of Elm Street and Somonauk Street.Upon arrival, officers found a 17-year-old boy who reportedly had been in an altercation with another individual and stabbed.The teen was transported to Northwestern Medicine Kishwaukee Hospital where he was pronounced dead.According to police, a juvenile suspect was taken into custody.The investigation remains ongoing. Police said this is an isolated incident and there is no known threat to the public.

Taste of Chicago begins, Eli's Cheesecake returns for 43rd year

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 16:00:11 GMT

CHICAGO — The annual Taste of Chicago is back, better and bigger than before. The Taste is all about trying new things but also remembering what makes Chicago great from Lou Malnati's pizza to Eli's Cheesecake. "My father Eli Schulman took his cheesecake outside of Eli's for the first time on July 4, 1980 -- that first Taste on Michigan Avenue," President of Eli's Cheesecake Marc Schulman said."We're the only vendor that has been at Taste every year since," Schulman said. Blackhawks will retire No. 7 for Chris Chelios — and Pearl Jam helped deliver the news Just like the Taste, a few things have changed over the years, however the cheesecake is staying the same. There are 35 food vendors and 15 food trucks, all serving food with live entertainment as well. The Taste opens up at 11 a.m. and ends at 9 p.m. and is free admission.