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EU lawmakers approve a deal to raise renewable energy target to 42.5% of total consumption by 2030

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:14:25 GMT

STRASBOURG, France (AP) — European Union lawmakers endorsed a deal Tuesday to raise the share of renewables in the bloc’s energy mix, another step to accelerate its green transition away from fossil fuels.The bill, adopted by a large majority — 470 lawmakers voted in favor, 120 against and 40 abstained — foresees an updated renewable energy target of 42.5% of total consumption by 2030. The current goal is 32%.“Today’s vote in the European Parliament clears the way for a massive boost towards the energy transition, in a way that is affordable for citizens and reinforces the EU as an industrial bastion,” said Green MEP Ville Niinistö. “The EU is saying goodbye to fossil fuels in our energy mix. The energy crisis has shown that we must be fully independent of oil and gas, especially from Russia.” A review by global energy think tank Ember showed that wind and solar generated a record 22% of the EU’s electricity last year and for the first time overtook gas, which accounted for 20%. Coa...

Israeli academics and artists call on Biden and UN to shun Netanyahu during his upcoming US visit

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:14:25 GMT

JERUSALEM (AP) — Thousands of Israeli academics and artists have urged U.S. President Joe Biden and United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres to shun Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his visit to the United States next week, underlining the divide between Israel’s far-right government and segments of the country’s population. In an open letter published Wednesday, over 3,500 signers, including well-known Israeli writer David Grossman and painter Tamar Getter, called on Biden and Guterres not to meet with Netanyahu or invite him to speak at the U.N. General Assembly’s yearly meeting of world leaders. The prime minister’s office has said Netanyahu will travel to the U.S. next week to visit high-tech leaders in California before flying to New York to address the U.N. “Netanyahu incites citizens against each other, threatens the country’s security and economy, and turns his face away from the historical conflict that tears Israel apart – the for...

Hurricane Lee swirls through open waters on a path to Atlantic Canada

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:14:25 GMT

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Hurricane Lee whirled north of Puerto Rico on Tuesday as a Category 3 storm, with forecasters noting it would remain in open waters through this week while on a path to Atlantic Canada.The storm was located 575 miles (925 kilometers) south of Bermuda. It had winds of up to 115 mph (185 kph) and was moving west-northwest at 7 mph (11 kph).By Sunday, Lee was forecast to weaken into a tropical storm and likely make landfall in Nova Scotia, Canada, according to AccuWeather.“A significant storm surge will occur along with the strongest winds and risk of property damage,” AccuWeather said in a statement.Winds and flooding also are expected to affect Rhode Island, eastern Massachusetts, southeastern New Hampshire and central and coastal Maine, forecasters said.Hurricane Lee was expected to start turning northward on Tuesday afternoon on a path that would take it just west of Bermuda late Thursday, with the National Hurricane Center warning the island could expe...

Sweeping study finds 1,000 cases of sexual abuse in Swiss Catholic Church since mid-20th century

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:14:25 GMT

GENEVA (AP) — A sweeping, year-long study of sex abuse by priests and others within the Roman Catholic Church in Switzerland published Tuesday has turned up more than 1,000 cases since the mid-20th century.The report, commissioned by the Swiss Conference of Bishops and led by two University of Zurich historians, offers a rare and deep look at sexual abuse and harassment that has confounded the Catholic Church across the globe in recent decades — upending the lives of many victims and their families, and tarnishing the image of the institution. The authors said in a statement that they identified 1,002 “situations of sexual abuse,” including accusations against 510 people accused. The abuse, they wrote, affected 921 people. “The situations identified surely amount to only the tip of the iceberg,” said the historians Monika Dommann and Marietta Meier in a statement. Among other findings, which were admittedly not exhaustive, over half — 56% — of the cases of sexual abuse involved men ...

Registration opens today for Toronto’s fall rec programs

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:14:25 GMT

Registration opens this week for Toronto’s fall recreation programs.Starting at 7 a.m. Tuesday, people living in Toronto, Etobicoke, York and East York can sign up for rec programs and Holiday CampTO.There are nearly 13,000 registered programs available with approximately 130,000 spaces for people of all ages. Programs include arts, fitness, sports, skating and swimming, beginning the week of Sep. 30.The city says the quickest and easiest way to sign up is online through the fall recreation page. There is also in-person support available between 7 a.m. and noon at the following locations:Driftwood Community Recreation Centre – 4401 Jane St.Masaryk-Cowan Community Recreation Centre – 220 Cowan Ave.Wellesley Community Centre – 495 Sherbourne St. Registration opens Wednesday for residents in North York and Scarborough, with in-person support available from 7 a.m. to noon at the following locations:Centennial Recreation Centre – 1967 Ellesmere Rd.Denni...

The MTV VMAs return Tuesday night with Timbaland, Haddish and Billy Porter added as presenters

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:14:25 GMT

LOS ANGELES — The MTV Video Music Awards return Tuesday night, and for the first time, only women are nominated in the show’s artist of the year category. Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, Doja Cat, Nicki Minaj, Karol G and Shakira are contenders for the night’s prize.On Tuesday morning, the VMAs announced its final round of presenters, which include A Boogie Wit da Hoodie, Anuel AA, Ashanti, Billy Porter, Chloe Bailey, Dove Cameron, Fat Joe, Halle Bailey, Nelly Furtado, Reneé Rapp, Saweetie, Shenseea, Thalia, Tiffany Haddish, Timbaland and Wyclef Jean.The VMAs, which takes place at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey — just outside of New York City — will be hosted by Minaj. Last year, she emceed alongside Lil Wayne and Jack Harlow; this year, she’s solo.The show will also celebrate 50 years of hip-hop with a star-studded, multi-generational finale performance: DMC, Doug E. Fresh, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, LL Cool J and Minaj will join forces.The VMAs k...

American researcher doing well after rescue from a deep Turkish cave, calling it a ‘crazy adventure’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:14:25 GMT

ISTANBUL (AP) — An American researcher was “doing well” at a Turkish hospital, officials said Tuesday, after rescuers pulled him out of a cave where he fell seriously ill and became trapped 1,000 meters (more than 3,000 feet) below its entrance for over a week.Rescuers from Turkey and across Europe cheered and clapped as Mark Dickey, a 40-year-old experienced caver, emerged from Morca cave in southern Turkey’s Taurus Mountains strapped to a stretcher at 12:37 a.m. local time Tuesday. He was whisked to the hospital in the nearby city of Mersin in a helicopter.Dickey fell ill on Sept. 2 with stomach bleeding. What caused his condition remained unclear.Lying on the stretcher surrounded by reporters shortly after his rescue, he described his nine-day ordeal as a “crazy, crazy adventure.” “It is amazing to be above ground again,” he said. A well-known cave researcher and a cave rescuer who had participated in many international expeditions, Dickey thanked the international caving communi...

Millennial Money: Food service workers prepped for success in other jobs

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:14:25 GMT

My first time bartending I was left alone at the bar on a busy summer night with zero training. I cried in the back for a few minutes, then started pouring drinks. I mean, I didn’t have a lot of options. At one point, I was so stressed I asked a customer how to make a gin and tonic.That night taught me that I could rely on myself when others didn’t show up. I could learn on the fly. I could advocate for myself by asking people to be patient, and I could operate under pressure.So when I was struggling after transitioning into the tech industry, I often thought to myself: If I could handle that first night of bartending, I could certainly handle learning SEO and Zoom meetings.Working in food service can be brutal, but you learn how to work hard, collaborate with others, manage stress and deal with people.Despite that, it can feel like you’re unqualified for so-called white-collar work when you’re used to wearing an apron. And hiring managers may not always see the value food service w...

Tuesday Forecast: Temps in low 70s with a few showers

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:14:25 GMT

CHICAGO — Mostly cloudy Tuesday with a 20 percent chance of showers. Decreasing clouds, winds: N 10-15 G20. High: 70. Interactive Radar: Track showers and storm here Mostly cloudy tonight with a 30 percent chance of rain/storm. Winds: NNE 5-10. Low: 53.Wednesday Forecast: Partly cloudy, 20 percent chance of showers. Winds: NNE 5-10. High: 67.Full forecast details and more at the WGN Weather Center blog

Harmony Public Schools finds success with teacher retention program

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:14:25 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Harmony Public Schools announced it received $7.5 million of bonuses from the Texas Education Agency, with a million going to teachers at its Central Texas campuses. The school district said it's helped retain its teachers in the classroom. The Teacher Incentive Allotment was created in June of 2019 after the Texas legislator passed H.B. 3. The money is to reward high-performing teachers to create a pathway to a six-figure salary that will help keep them in the classroom. "I feel like, number one, it lets them know that the work they do in the classroom is seen and recognized and we want to compensate them for staying in a very important role such as teaching," Dr. Amy Chankin, the assistant area superintendent of programs for Central Texas Harmony Public Schools, explained. How much more can teachers make? Dr. Chankin said the school district applied for the TIA program the first year it started. This year $1 million went to 121 designated teachers in the Central ...