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Kyrsten Sinema Moves to Slash Pilot Training After Taking Airline Cash

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:40:00 GMT

In a blistering attack on her Senate colleague last week, Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., warned independent Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema that a proposal to reduce the number of required in-flight training hours for pilots would result in “blood on your hands.” The attack from Duckworth was prompted by an amendment supported by Sinema and Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., that would allow pilots to meet training requirements by substituting hours spent in a flight simulator for actual flight time.For Duckworth, who lost both of her legs to a rocket attack on the Black Hawk helicopter she was piloting in 2004 during the Iraq War, the issue is personal. “Now is not the time to put corporate profits ahead of the lives of our constituents who may want to board a commercial flight in the future,” Duckworth said. “A vote to reduce a 1,500-hour rule for pilot training will mean blood on your hands when an inevitable accident occurs as a result of an inadequately trained flight crew.”The eleventh-hour ...

Exploding fire extinguisher kills a student and injures 5 during a high school fire drill in Bangkok

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:40:00 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — A fire extinguisher exploded and killed a student during a fire drill held outdoors in sweltering heat at a high school in Thailand’s capital Friday, police said. Five other students were injured.The carbon dioxide canister was being displayed in bright sunshine near students during the demonstration in Bangkok when it exploded and sent metal scraps into the chest of the boy who died, city police chief Thiti Saengsawang said.Temperatures in Bangkok reached as high as 36 C ( 97 F) on Friday.At least three people could face charges of death by negligence, Thiti said, but he did not identify them. Police and rescuers said five students were injured.Education Minister Treenuch Thienthong said it was the first time in six years that the school had held a fire drill, and that it was coordinated by Bangkok’s fire department. She said the department hadn’t experienced such an accident before during the many drills it has conducted at schools.Source

AP Photos: At Royal Ascot, the hats are almost as important as the horses

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:40:00 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Every summer, British royals and thousands of others get dressed to the nines for Royal Ascot, a glamorous annual horse racing event that dates back to 1711, when Queen Anne founded Ascot Racecourse in southern England.The outfits are fancy but the hats are the main fashion attraction — extravagant, elaborate and sometimes gravity-defying. This year’s standouts included a giant sunflower, several feathered numbers, and an “Alice in Wonderland”-themed hat with playing cards, a clock and a ribbon that read “We’re all mad here.” Some 300,000 visitors usually attend the Royal Ascot over five days. This year, King Charles III and Queen Camilla were among them, and some attendees at Ladies Day Thursday said they had designed their hats specifically to pay tribute to the new monarch.Viv Jenner, a milliner, wore a hat made for the wearer to look through the flowered brim at the center, made from feathers.“I designed this with the king in mind, it’s new beginn...

Police: Officer seriously injured when struck by car reported stolen

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:40:00 GMT

WOODBRIDGE, Va. (AP) — A northern Virginia police officer has been seriously injured after authorities say he was struck by a stolen car he was attempting to stop.According to Prince William County Police, the officer spotted the stolen vehicle on a side street in Woodbridge around 11 p.m. Thursday.Police say that as the officer was at the driver’s side window, the driver inside sped away and made a U-turn.The driver then sped directly at the officer, according to police. The officer opened fire before he was struck by the car. The car crashed and the driver fled on foot.Police say the suspect was found around 1:30 a.m. Friday after an extensive search and did not appear to have been injured by the officer’s gunfire. The officer was taken to the hospital with serious injuries.Police said they would release more information Friday after the suspect is formally arrested.Source

Titanic submersible ‘catastrophic implosion’: questions remain about the costs and ethics of rescuing tourist expeditions

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:40:00 GMT

By: Ali Asgary, York University, CanadaThe U.S. Coast Guard announced Thursday that debris found on the seafloor was identified as belonging to the Titan, the OceanGate submersible that had disappeared on June 18. Teams from different countries — including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Germany — were conducting search missions under a very tight timeline.The discovery, close to the site of the Titanic, indicates the end of search-and-rescue operations for the five people onboard, who were killed in a ‘catastrophic implosion,’ according to the Coast Guard.As one of the largest international marine search-and-rescue operations, the incident raised questions about risk management, search-and-rescue operations, costs and ethical aspects of responses.Ocean incidentsA significant number of economic activities — including shipping, fishing and offshore oil and gas drilling — are conducted in marine environments. These activities can lead to occurrences of accidents and ...

Naked Florida man leads high-speed chase through Flagler County

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:40:00 GMT

FLAGLER COUNTY, Fla. (WSVN) – Local law enforcement in Flagler County found themselves in the midst of an extraordinary high-speed chase, but this time with a twist. Stephen Peterson, 22, commandeered an SUV nearly nude and wreaked havoc as he careened through the streets of Flagler County.An officer with Florida Fish and Wildlife was the first to notice the egregious driver as he collided with multiple vehicles. The officer attempted to stop the driver but Peterson continued at a high rate of speed and eventually drove onto the running track of an elementary school. The naked driver eventually entered a landfill nearby and traveled into a wooded area. Authorities managed to locate Peterson’s car, which appeared to be stuck against a concrete barrier. Police commanded the man and the passenger inside the car to exit but they both immediately refused.At one point, the driver reportedly said, “I am butt naked.” Police had to forcibly remove the couple from the...

Supreme Court allows a Biden policy to take effect focusing deportations on public safety risks

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:40:00 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) —The Supreme Court said Friday it will no longer stand in the way of a long-blocked Biden administration policy to prioritize the deportation of immigrants who are deemed to pose the greatest public safety risk or were picked up at the border.The justices rejected a challenge from Republican-led states to a policy that, the administration said, recognizes that there is not enough money or manpower to deport all 11 million or so people who are in the United States illegally.The states had argued that federal immigration law requires authorities to detain and deport even those who pose little or no risk.At the center of the case is a September 2021 directive from the Department of Homeland Security that paused deportations unless individuals had committed acts of terrorism, espionage or “egregious threats to public safety.” The guidance, issued after Joe Biden became president, updated a Trump-era policy to remove people in the country illegally regardless of criminal ...

SUV loses control, plows through fruit stand knocking over employee in Ohio

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:40:00 GMT

AVON, Ohio (WSVN) – A violent impact sent a 19-year-old employee hurtling to the ground and propelled into a store after an 83-year-old woman lost control of her SUV. The sudden turn of events left workers and customers in a state of panic.The incident occurred around 2:30 p.m. when the worker, who was stacking fruit, became an unwitting victim of circumstances. According to Avon police, the 83-year-old woman lost control and went over a concrete parking block before eventually plowing through the stand. The worker was dragged until the vehicle collided with a support pole.“Everybody is safe but there’s definitely an emergency,” stated a person. Store owner, Jay Pickering, expressed his shock as he reviewed the video footage. “As soon as we saw it, we thought, oh no, you know, it looked pretty bad,” Pickering said. “We looked at it really close to see if he hit his head. It didn’t appear he did. He did hop right back up, so that made u...

Greece didn’t reply to offer of aircraft from EU border agency before migrant tragedy

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:40:00 GMT

ATHENS — The EU Border and Coast Guard Agency says it received no reply from Greece last week after it offered to send a plane to monitor an overcrowded fishing boat that ultimately sank, with a loss of life that is feared to run into the hundreds. The communication gap is a sign of heightened tension between the EU agency, known as Frontex, and Athens, over the role that each party played in a tragedy that looks liable to go down as the worst shipwreck of the migration crisis in the Mediterranean. A spokesperson for Frontex told POLITICO that after initially detecting the vessel and notifying the Greek and Italian authorities, it offered to provide additional assistance, including dispatching an aircraft from Italy, but the Greek coast guard never replied.When asked about this lack of response, the Greek coast guard said it did not want to comment “regarding details of the operational planning.”The Hellenic Coast Guard is facing increasing questions over its response to the fata...

7.5 million Baby Shark bath toys are recalled after they cut or stabbed children

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:40:00 GMT

Associated PressWASHINGTON (AP) — About 7.5 million singing and swimming “Baby Shark” bath toys are being recalled after multiple lacerations and puncture wounds were reported in children playing with them.Zuru, an El Segundo, California-based toymaker, said it’s recalling both full-size and mini versions of its robotic baby shark toys that have hard plastic top fins, which pose the injury risks. Twelve injuries have already been reported with Zuru’s full-sized Robo Alive Junior Baby Shark Sing & Swim Bath Toys — after children sat or fell on the now-recalled products. Nine of these cases required stitches or medical attention, according to a Thursday release from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. While injuries have only been reported with these full-sized toys so far, Zuru is also recalling Robo Alive Junior Mini Baby Shark Swimming Bath Toys “out of an abundance of caution.”Consumers in possession of the recalled toy...