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Lahaina residents begin returning to sites of homes destroyed by deadly wildfire

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:40 GMT

LAHAINA, Hawaii (AP) — Some Lahaina residents returned to their devastated properties Monday for the first time since the Hawaii town was destroyed by wildfire nearly seven weeks ago.Authorities allowed residents into the first area to be cleared for reentry — a zone of about two dozen parcels in the northern part of Lahaina — between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m.The Aug. 8 wildfire killed at least 97 people and destroyed more than 2,000 buildings, most of them homes. Officials urged residents not to sift through the ashes for fear of raising toxic dust.The prospect of returning has stirred strong emotions in residents who fled in vehicles or on foot as the wind-whipped flames raced across Lahaina, the historic capital of the former Hawaiian kingdom, and overcame people stuck in traffic trying to escape. Some survivors jumped over a sea wall and sheltered in the waves as hot black smoke blotted out the sun. From a National Guard blockade near the burn zone, Jes Claydon has been able to see the ...

Chef JJ Johnson’s new cookbook celebrates rice, the humble grain that feeds the world

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:40 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Chef JJ Johnson uses rice at home in many different ways — making crepes with his kids, using leftover rice for his wife’s salad and frying it for dinner multiple ways. “Rice is a Swiss army knife. It can do so much for you,” he says.This fall he’s tried to prove that with the cookbook “The Simple Art of Rice,” an embrace of how the world has used the humble grain in everything from Seafood Paella to Thai Sticky Rice.“I wanted people to realize that rice isn’t just a side dish, ” he says. “You can have it for breakfast and dessert. It’s a salad. It could be a side, it could be a magnificent side, and it could be a complete dish.”Johnson, who co-authored with food writer Danica Novgorodoff for Flatiron Books, begins with tips on mastering the basics — they endorse the washing of rice, for instance — as well as exploring the different kinds of grains you might encounter, like Carolina Gold, Jefferson Red and Thai Red Cargo.Then it’s off to...

With Ford deal approved, Unifor sets sights on GM for next round of auto talks

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:40 GMT

TORONTO — Canada’s largest private sector union says it will turn to negotiations with General Motors after members voted to accept its labour agreement with Ford Motor Co. of Canada.Unifor says the talks will begin Tuesday.Workers at Ford voted 54 per cent in favour of a new three-year collective agreement over the weekend. The ratification stands in sharp contrast to the 81 per cent support their previous contract received.The narrow vote of support by Unifor members for the proposed contract with Ford has experts saying that reaching deals with General Motors and Stellantis could prove more challenging.The union has said the Ford deal will set the pattern for contract talks at GM and Stellantis, but Steven Tufts, a labour expert at York University, said the relatively low support raises the question of whether workers will accept the template.Unifor’s negotiations with GM cover approximately 4,300 workers at the St. Catharines Powertrain Plant, Oshawa Assembly Complex and W...

Unifor sets sights on GM for next round of auto talks

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:40 GMT

Canada’s largest private sector union says it will turn to negotiations with General Motors after members voted to accept its labour agreement with Ford Motor Co. of Canada.Unifor says the talks will begin on Tuesday.Workers at Ford voted 54 per cent in favour of a new three-year collective agreement over the weekend. The ratification stands in sharp contrast to the 81 per cent support their previous contract received.The narrow vote of support by Unifor members for the proposed contract with Ford has experts saying that reaching deals with General Motors and Stellantis could prove more challenging.The union has said the Ford deal will set the pattern for contract talks at GM and Stellantis, but Steven Tufts, a labour expert at York University, said the relatively low support raises the question of whether workers will accept the template.Unifor’s negotiations with GM cover approximately 4,300 workers at the St. Catharines Powertrain Plant, Oshawa Assembly Complex and Woodstoc...

Former environment minister in Albania sentenced to prison in bribery case

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:40 GMT

TIRANA, Albania (AP) — A former Albanian environment minister, seven other officials and four businessmen were sentenced Monday to prison terms in connection with bribery over a contract to build an incinerator in western Albania, court officials said.The Special Court on Corruption and Organized Crime in the Albanian capital, Tirana, sentenced former Environment Minister Lefter Koka to six years and eight months imprisonment on charges of corruption, abuse of power and money laundering. He also was barred from holding public posts for five years.Koka, 59, who was environment minister from 2013 to 2017, also served as a lawmaker and before that as mayor of the western port city of Durres, had been accused of accepting a bribe of 3.7 million euros (then $4.1 million) for the incinerator contract in the western city of Fier. Koka will appeal the verdict.The court also sentenced seven other officials and four businessmen to prison terms ranging from two to eight years on similar charge...

Toronto Raptors are in the mix for Damian Lillard. But is it a good idea?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:40 GMT

The Toronto Raptors are back.Not officially, mind you. That doesn’t happen until next Monday, when NBA training camps officially open, but the OVO Athletic Centre has been a hub of activity for a couple of weeks now, with all present and accounted for save for incoming point guard Dennis Schroder, who was busy through the second week of September helping Germany with the FIBA Basketball World Cup in Manila.An excused absence, in other words.But the real question — and an unusual one on the cusp of the pre-season — is who will be in the gym when the team has its first official practice in Burnaby, B.C., on Oct. 3.On that front, you may have heard that the Portland Trail Blazers are planning to trade superstar point guard Damian Lillard.And yes, I can confirm the Toronto Raptors, per sources, are very much in the mix. Certainly not all the way there and likely not even halfway to getting a deal done, but progress has been made.Now, you may have heard this kind of thing before: big nam...

Sen. Durbin meets with striking UAW workers in Bolingbrook

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:40 GMT

BOLINGBROOK, Ill. — Senator Dick Durbin spent some time speaking with the striking union workers in Bolingbrook on Monday.About 90 UAW members walked off the job last week.The senator didn’t want to get into the specifics of the negotiations between the UAW and the big three automakers. He said that the negotiations should remain between the union and companies, not the government. The strike of the UAW on Friday spread to all 38 GM and Stellantis parts distribution centers in 20 states, including one in Bolingbrook and the Stellantis distribution center in Naperville. Many of the workers said they are standing up after years of taking cuts in their contracts, saying they were trying to help out companies during a hard time. UAW strike expands to GM, Stellantis plants in suburbs They said that the auto makers are doing better and the company heads are getting huge pay increases, so should they. Even though the senator said that the government should keep out of negotiations, polit...

A few more showers/thunderstorms today

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:40 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- There were at least 55 reports of hail in Central Texas Sunday night. Most of the hail reports come from Williamson and Travis Counties. The hail seemed to parallel I-35.So far, the largest hail stone reported is 3.50" 3 miles north of Round Rock that caused wind shield and window damage at a local car dealership. There were multiple reports of hail 2 to 3" in diameter. PHOTOS: Large, damaging hail pummels parts of Central Texas The rain was heaviest in much of western Gillespie and southwest Mason Counties where some totals eclipsed an inch. The highest total in our viewing area is 3.17" at a gauge 8 miles northeast of Harper in southwest Gillespie County.There were also heavy downpours along I-35 from Georgetown to south of Austin. One observer in Georgetown recorded 1.13". Camp Mabry had a decent rain total of .75".Showers and thunderstorms will be increasing especially late this afternoon with the majority of the storms south of a line from Fredericksburg to A...

Texas GOP executive committee calls on Speaker Dade Phelan to resign in wake of Paxton impeachment

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:40 GMT

AUSTIN (Nexstar) — Over the weekend, the state Republican executive committee passed a resolution calling for Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan to resign from his leadership role over his "yea" vote on the articles of impeachment against Attorney General Ken Paxton.The Texas GOP executive committee, which consists of 64 elected members, voted on the resolution Friday with accusations that Phelan "pressured other members" to vote to impeach through his leadership team "despite the weakness of the case."The Texas GOP does not have any ability or power to make decisions on behalf of the Legislature, but frequently makes requests for its fellow Republicans. Vacating a House Speaker from the chair is rare, and state representatives would not be able to do so until the next regular legislative session in 2025.The most recent overthrow in Texas history was in 2009, when Democrats and a number of Republicans went up against Republican Speaker Tom Craddick, replacing him with Joe Straus as Hou...

Cars, homes in Round Rock damaged after Sunday night hail storm

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:40 GMT

ROUND ROCK, Texas (KXAN) -- People in Round Rock and the Austin area woke up to shattered windshields, dented cars, and damaged roofs Monday morning after hail fell from the sky overnight. KXAN viewers shared their videos and photos of the severe storm from overnight and its aftermath. Roy Armendariz said he saw baseball-sized hail fall in his Cat Hollow neighborhood. That kind of hail can harm people and animals that are outside. Armendariz said he had to save his pet who was outside in the storm when it started. MAP: Hail wallops parts of Central Texas during severe thunderstorm Sunday night "Matter of fact, my dog was in the front yard and got hit, and then it came down like hail," Armendariz explained. "Causing damage to my vehicle, the house, and my whole neighborhood."The Honda dealership in Round Rock sustained thousands of dollars of damage to vehicles in its lot. Cars lined up closes to the frontage road all shared the same characteristics -- a severely cracked windshie...