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AP Election Brief | What to expect in Houston’s mayoral runoff election

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:07 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — It’s down to two candidates in the race to lead the nation’s fourth-largest city. U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee and state Sen. John Whitmire will face off in Saturday’s runoff election to be the next mayor of Houston.Whitmire and Jackson Lee, both Democrats, were the top two vote-getters in the Nov. 7 general election, but neither candidate received the vote majority required to avoid a runoff. Whitmire led the 18-person field with 42% of the vote, while Jackson Lee placed second with 36%. The rest of the pack, including one write-in candidate, trailed far behind, with no other candidate breaking the 10% mark.The winner will replace term-limited Mayor Sylvester Turner, also a Democrat. In the final debates of the campaign held Sunday and Monday, both candidates discussed their plans to address some of the major challenges facing the city, including crime, infrastructure, affordable housing and its budget. Jackson Lee also addressed a leaked audio recording purported...

Seychelles declares state of emergency after explosion amid destructive flooding

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:07 GMT

KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — Authorities in Seychelles declared a state of emergency Thursday after a blast at an explosives store caused “massive damage” in an industrial area also facing flooding amid heavy rainfall, according to the presidency.The blast happened overnight in the Providence area of Mahe, the largest and most populous island of the Seychelles. Providence is located 710 kilometers (441 miles) from Victoria, the Seychelles capital. “Everyone is being asked to stay at home,” the presidency said in a statement. “All schools will be closed. Only workers in the essential services and persons traveling will be allowed free movement.”Emergency services were at work in the area, the statement said. There was no immediate word on any casualties from the blast.Much of East Africa is getting heavy rainfall that has caused deadly flooding.Hundreds have died across the region and millions have been displaced since the heavy rains began in late October.Other East African countries, inc...

‘Not as dire’: Canada’s 2024 food price report released. Here’s what experts are forecasting

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:07 GMT

The 14th annual food price report was released on Thursday with a focus on how Canadians are spending less despite inflation, either by reducing the quantity or quality of food, or by substituting less expensive alternatives.In all, Canada’s 2024 Food Price Report predicts an increase of 2.5 to 4.5 per cent in overall food costs in the new year, with a rise across the board.Sylvain Charlebois, professor and director of the Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University, says that in 2023, all sections of the grocery sector were impacted by inflation. Charlebois says they expect a “soft landing,” with inflation expected to cool for the new year.“We’re expecting some price wars. Things are tightening up right now for grocers and suppliers,” Charlebois told CityNews. “We’re expecting an inflation rate of 2.5 per cent to 4.5 per cent … but we wouldn’t be surprised if it falls below that threshold.”Charlebois says that wh...

South Korea Olympic committee pushes athletes to attend navy boot camp, triggering rebukes

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:07 GMT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s Olympic committee is pushing to send hundreds of athletes to a military training center to enhance their mental toughness for the Paris Olympics, a move that’s been criticized as outdated and regressive.The Korean Sport & Olympic Committee advised domestic associations last week to send athletes to the Korea Marine Corps camp in the southeastern port city of Pohang for three days of training this month, according to some associations.About 320 athletes, including women, are expected at the boot camp, committee officials said on Thursday. Sports associations have previously asked their athletes to take marine-style training ahead of big sports events but it’s the first time the Olympic committee has recommended it, committee officials added.Those officials reportedly decided on the camp following the Asian Games in China in October, when South Korea finished third in the gold medal count to China and Japan.After the Asian Games, Olymp...

2024 to bring slower food inflation as prices continue to moderate: report

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:07 GMT

Food prices will keep rising in 2024, though at a slower pace, according to the latest Food Price Report.The 14th annual report by Dalhousie University, the University of British Columbia, the University of Guelph and the University of Saskatchewan predicted that food prices will rise between 2.5 per cent and 4.5 per cent next year as inflation continues to moderate. However, grocers will be in fierce competition next year to try and win back loyalty from customers who have been shopping around more to try and save money, said project lead and director of Dalhousie’s Agri-Food Analytics Lab Sylvain Charlebois.“I think loyalty is going to be a huge battleground,” he said. This competition could lead to mild deflation on the prices of some essential food items, he said, even as overall food prices will continue to rise. “How do you get people to come back? (With) rebates, discounts. And that leads to price wars.” Some categories are predicted to experience faster price rises tha...

Live updates | Widening Israeli offensive in southern Gaza worsens dire humanitarian conditions

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:07 GMT

The Israeli military hit Rafah in southern Gaza twice overnight, residents said, as United Nations officials warned there are no safe places left in the besieged territory.The center of Gaza’s second-largest city, Khan Younis, has also seen fighting amid Israel’s widening air and ground offensive in the southern part of the territory that has displaced tens of thousands more Palestinians and worsened dire humanitarian conditions.Distribution of food, water and medicine have been prevented outside a sliver of southern Gaza, and new military evacuation orders are squeezing people into ever-smaller areas.The United Nations said 1.87 million people — more than 80% of Gaza’s population — have been driven from their homes since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, triggered by the deadly Oct. 7 Hamas assault on southern Israel.Around 1,200 people have died on the Israeli side, mainly civilians killed during Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack. The Health Ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said the death tol...

Former UK leader Boris Johnson defends efforts to balance health and economy at COVID-19 inquiry

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:07 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Former U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson defended his efforts to balance the health and economic impacts of COVID-19 as he gave a second day of testimony Thursday to Britain’s public inquiry into the government’s response to the pandemic.Johnson was grilled about his government’s “Eat Out to Help Out” program, which supported the hospitality industry by subsidizing restaurant meals, and delays in imposing a second national lockdown as infection rates began to rise toward the end of 2020. Leading scientists have testified that they weren’t part of the discussions on the program and that it was obvious it would increase transmission risks. Johnson said he had no reason to question the restaurant initiative.“I must emphasize, it was not at the time presented to me as something that would add to the budget of risk,” he said. Johnson, who is testifying under oath, admitted Wednesday that he made mistakes in grasping the extent of the pandemic and tha...

From SZA to Kelce: The mispronounced words of 2023

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:07 GMT

Some of the words tied to this year's hottest topics were also among the most mangled when it came to saying them aloud, with stumpers ranging from the first name of “Oppenheimer” star Cillian Murphy to the singer SZA to the name of a sacred slab of sandstone used in the coronation of King Charles III.This year's lists of the most mispronounced words in the U.S. and Britain were released Thursday by the online language learning company Babbel, which commissions The Closed Captioning Group in the U.S. and the British Institute of Verbatim Reports in the U.K. to identify the top words that news anchors, politicians and other public figures have struggled with.FILE - Actor Cillian Murphy poses at the "Oppenheimer" premiere, July 13, 2023, in London. Some of the words tied to this year's hottest topics were also among the most mangled when it came to saying them aloud, with stumpers ranging from the first name of “Oppenheimer” star Murphy to the singer SZA to the name of a sacred slab o...

Local animal shelter warns of 'extreme overcrowding'; calls for community help

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:07 GMT

WILLIAMSON COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) – The Williamson County Regional Animal Shelter, or WCRAS, said Wednesday it is "experiencing an extreme overcrowding crisis" and needs help from the community. WCRAS said it had 239 dogs on Wednesday which, according to the shelter, was 139 more than it is designed and staffed to care for. The shelter also said it had no more open kennels. Williamson County animal shelter at unsustainable capacity People can help, the shelter said, by adopting a dog for just $2 this week or fostering. Volunteers are also welcome to help at the shelter with daily tasks, as well as socializing and walking the dogs, according to the shelter.WCRAS said its "Doggy Day Out" program lets someone go to the shelter, pick out one of the dogs approved for the program, and take them out for the day. The shelter said that program allows the dogs to get break while giving shelter staff time to clean, make matches with future owners and gather information about the dog's persona...

Crazy about pickleball? Now you can check out padel in Mendota Heights.

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:07 GMT

Pickleball is popular, but padel is next.That’s according to founders of The Heights Racquet and Social Club in Mendota Heights, which officially opened its doors last week. It’s a racquet sport speakeasy of sorts, with year-round, indoor play spread across four pickleball courts, four squash courts – and what’s believed to be the first padel court in the state of Minnesota.Padel is a game that marries parts of tennis, pickleball and squash to create a unique racquet sport where players use a stringless paddle to strike a ball similar to a tennis ball. The court is smaller than a tennis court – roughly three padel courts fit inside one tennis court – but larger than a squash court. It is surrounded by glass walls on the baselines, and has a steel cage near the middle. The glass walls are in play.“I love everything about (padel),” said Jeff Mulligan, a retired professional squash player who serves as a consultant for The Heights Racquet and Social Club. “When you get out there,...