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NTSB investigators focus on ‘design problem’ with braking system after Chicago commuter train crash

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:27 GMT

CHICAGO (AP) — Federal safety officials investigating a Chicago commuter train crash that injured nearly 40 people when it slammed into snow-removal equipment are focusing on a “design problem” with its braking system.National Transportation Safety Board Chairperson Jennifer Homendy said the Chicago Transit Authority train was traveling at 26.9 mph (43.3 kpm) on Thursday when it struck the snow-removal equipment, which was on the tracks conducting training for the winter season. She said that based on preliminary information she believes that equipment, with six CTA workers onboard, was stopped when the train crashed into it.Homendy said NTSB’s initial calculations based on the train’s speed and other factors such as the number of passengers on board indicate it was designed to stop within 1,780 feet (542.5 meters) to avoid something its path. But that didn’t happen, and it crashed into the snow-removal equipment.“Our team was able to determine that it was in fact ...

Las reacciones de los líderes internacionales ante el triunfo electoral de Javier Milei

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:27 GMT

(CNN en Español) — El líder populista de derecha, Javier Milei, se impuso en las elecciones presidenciales argentinas este domingo 19 de noviembre con más del 55% de los votos. Luego de los cuatro años de Gobierno del actual presidente peronista Alberto Fernández, la tendencia en las urnas giró hacia el otro lado del espectro ideológico.En la noche del domingo, el triunfo de Milei en segunda vuelta desató las reacciones de una gran variedad de líderes alrededor del mundo.Donald Trump, sobre el triunfo de Milei: “Make Argentina great again”El expresidente republicano de Estados Unidos, Donald Trump, felicitó a Javier Milei por su victoria. “El mundo entero estaba mirando. Estoy muy orgulloso de ti”, expresó Trump en la red social Truth. Trump y Milei son dos políticos con ideologías afines, liberales de derecha.“Make Argentina great again”, la reacción de Donald Trump tras la victoria de Javier MileiElon Musk: “La prosperidad está por l...

A year after a mass shooting at an LGBTQ+ nightclub, community feels supported but says work remains

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:27 GMT

FILE - Kebrina Chirdon lights candles at a memorial outside of Club Q on Nov. 25, 2022, in Colorado Springs, Colo. After the mass shooting last November at the LGBTQ+ nightclub in Colorado Springs that turned a drag queen’s birthday celebration into a massacre, the conservative community was forced to reckon with its reputation for being unwelcoming to gay, lesbian and transgender people. (Parker Seibold/The Gazette via AP, File)(AP/Parker Seibold) FILE - Kebrina Chirdon lights candles at a memorial outside of Club Q on Nov. 25, 2022, in Colorado Springs, Colo. After the mass shooting last November at the LGBTQ+ nightclub in Colorado Springs that turned a drag queen’s birthday celebration into a massacre, the conservative community was forced to reckon with its re...

Colorado lawmakers hold late session Sunday night

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:27 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) - A measure on rental assistance passed the Colorado State House on Sunday, a step toward putting $30 million into a state fund.All weekend discussion has focused on bills for rental assistance and funding healthcare, but the big question remains: will Coloradans see relief on their property taxes? What’s at stake in Colorado’s special legislative session "I do not believe that there will be much to any agreement in this special session," State Rep. Rose Pugliese said.Pugliese, a Republican from the 14th Colorado House district in Colorado Springs, said the GOP's input in this special session is falling flat."We brought forward ideas that were not considered in the majority's plan and so I don't know that we will be able to find consensus in this special session," Pugliese told FOX31.On the other side of the aisle, State Rep. Leslie Herod from the 8th Colorado House district in Denver said Republican proposals for property tax relief would have seen cuts across the b...

Hugs and tears as 8 Miami Beach firefighters come home after volunteering in Israel

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:27 GMT

Nearly three weeks after they answered the call to help other first responders in Israel, eight Miami Beach firefighters came home to a warm welcome from family, friends and colleagues.Loved ones on Sunday morning greeted the returning first responders with hugs outside a fire station along Pine Tree Drive.Their family, friends and neighbors rallied arounf their firefighters.“We want to thank each and every one of you for standing in solidarity with Jewish community and Israel and got being willing to have the courage to save lives and to stand with us,” said Rabbi Gayle Pomerantz with Temple Beth Sholom. “We are so grateful.”Among the eight firefighters who volunteered to travel overseas was Miami Beach Fire Rescue Capt. Adonis Garcia.“I would do it again in a minute, anytime they need us,” he said. “I think it’s very important that the people understand how much the Israeli people really need us. They were so thankful.”The Sout...

Proposed mandatory reuse rules jeopardizing world’s best recycling system

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:27 GMT

Six years ago, millions of viewers saw a mother albatross feeding her newborn chick scraps of plastic in David Attenborough’s Blue Planet II. What followed was a wave of support for more sustainable packaging and less waste ending up in nature.Unfortunately, pledges for more sustainable packaging made little difference. According to Eurostat, packaging is still 36 percent of solid municipal waste and growing (1). This constant increase combined with low levels of reuse and poor recycling of plastic makes a low-carbon, circular economy a difficult task.The governing body closest to meaningful change is the European Union. In this, MEPs are representative of their electorate: a study commissioned by Smurfit Kappa revealed that 65 percent of people surveyed prefer paper packaging over plastic (2).To help, the EU is proposing the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR). It’s a big step in the right direction, and everyone supports its goals of reducing waste and CO2 emissions. B...

Column: ‘It’s unexplainable.’ How a story of promise, progress and production became another tale of woe for the Chicago Bears.

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:27 GMT

This should have been a story about progress, about purpose, about a feisty NFL underdog that went on the road Sunday and gave it to the best team in their division in just about every way imaginable.Forced four turnovers. Controlled the ball for more than 40 minutes. Sunk its claws into a golden opportunity and appeared ready to make a statement with a signature victory.That’s how good the Chicago Bears were for 2 hours and 38 minutes Sunday afternoon, playing together, playing free, pummeling the Detroit Lions with aggressiveness and timely playmaking.Man, what a story this could have been.Should have been.Instead? This, unfortunately, has become another story about disappointment and disbelief, the kind that shows up in a stunned locker room after a team’s most impressive performance of the season topples like a child’s Jenga tower.This is the latest dispiriting chapter in a thick saga of woe for the Chicago Bears, who left Ford Field on Sunday as improbable 31-...

Celtics fortunate to beat Grizzlies after chaotic final sequence: ‘Lucky to win that game’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:27 GMT

As chaos hit its climax in the final seconds, Kristaps Porzingis kept his cool. With the Celtics leading the Grizzlies by two during a wild sequence, the ball found Ziaire Williams, whose desperation game-tying shot found Porzingis’ hand.Porzingis stood in satisfaction of the moment and seemed to send some trash talk in Williams’ direction as he lay on the court. His Celtics teammates swarmed him. And they all stood there for a moment to ensure the victory was secured.Somehow, the Celtics survived.For a second consecutive game, the Celtics were not at their best. Against an inferior Grizzlies team missing eight players, they were caught in another rockfight. It was emotional, physical, frustrating and sloppy, a game deserving of Marcus Smart, who was sitting on the Memphis bench all night due to an injury. But once again, the C’s found a way. Porzingis’ sixth block of the game clinched a gutsy 102-100 victory in Memphis.Porzingis – the man acquired for Smart in that shocking trade b...

Vogt resigns as CEO of Cruise following safety questions, recalls of self-driving vehicles

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:27 GMT

Kyle Vogt has resigned as CEO of Cruise, General Motors’ autonomous vehicle unit, as questions build about the safety of self-driving cars. Vogt’s decision to step down, announced late Sunday, follows a recent recall of all 950 Cruise vehicles to update software after one of them dragged a pedestrian to the side of a San Francisco street in early October. The California Department of Motor Vehicles revoked the license for Cruise. The company earlier announced it had paused operations for a review by independent experts. “The results of our ongoing reviews will inform additional next steps as we work to build a better Cruise centered around safety, transparency and trust,” the company said in a statement. ”We will continue to advance AV technology in service of our mission to make transportation safer, cleaner and more accessible.”Cruise won approval to transport fare-paying passengers last year. Since then, the autonomous vehicles have drawn complaints for making unexpected, t...

Seoul warns North Korea not to launch a spy satellite and hints a 2018 peace deal could be suspended

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:27 GMT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s military warned North Korea not to go ahead with its planned spy satellite launch, suggesting Monday that Seoul could suspend an inter-Korean peace deal and resume frontline aerial surveillance in retaliation for a launch.North Korea failed in its first two attempts to put a military spy satellite into orbit earlier this year and didn’t follow through with a vow to make a third attempt in October. South Korean officials said the delay was likely because North Korea is receiving Russian technological assistance and that the North could conduct a launch in coming days.Senior South Korean military officer Kang Hopil urged North Korea to cancel its third launch attempt immediately. “Our military will come up with necessary measures to protect the lives and safety of the people, if North Korea pushes ahead with a military spy satellite launch despite our warning,” Kang said in a televised statement.South Korean Defense Minister Shin Wonsik said in ...