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Out-of-control wildfire scorches Spain’s Tenerife island, affecting thousands

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:18:46 GMT

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — An out-of-control wildfire on the Spanish Canary island of Tenerife has burned thousands of acres and affected some 7,600 people who are either evacuated or confined, Regional President Fernando Clavijo said Thursday.He said some 250 firefighters and members of the Spanish army are tackling the blaze, located in the north of the island. Clavijo said the fire had a nearly 30-kilometer-long (19-mile) perimeter.“This is probably the most complicated blaze we have had on the Canary Islands, if not ever, at least in the last 40 years,” Clavijo told reporters. Extreme temperatures in the island, he said, added to “specific meteorological conditions” caused by the fire that turned the area into a virtual oven.The seven-island archipelago is located off the northwest coast of Africa and southwest of mainland Spain. Spanish authorities said their main goal is to contain the fire and prevent it from reaching more populated areas. The island’s main town, Santa Cruz, is ...

In an era of inflation, Walmart’s future is looking brighter

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:18:46 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Walmart reported strong second-quarter sales results as the retailer’s low-price model continues to attract budget conscious consumers in a tough economic environment. The nation’s largest retailer boosted its annual outlook again, sending shares up as much as 2% before the opening bell Thursday. Walmart, based in Bentonville, Arkansas, earned $7.89 billion, or $2.92 per share, for the three-month period ended July 31. Adjusted results were $1.84 per share, or 13 cents better than Wall Street had expected, according to a survey of industry analysts by FactSet. It was also up from last year’s quarterly profit of $5.15 billion.Sale rose nearly 6% to $161.63 billion, a shade better than expected. Comparable store sales — those from established stores and online operating over the past 12 months — rose 6.4% at Walmart’s U.S. division. That compares with 7.4% in the quarter ended April and the 8.3% during the fourth quarter. Global online sales sur...

Canopy Growth to sell Hershey Drive facility back to Hershey Canada for $53M

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:18:46 GMT

SMITHS FALLS, Ont. — Canopy Growth Corp. says it has signed a deal to sell its facility in Smiths Falls, Ont., that was once home to a Hershey chocolate factory back to the chocolate maker.The cannabis company says Hershey Canada Inc. has agreed to pay about $53 million in cash for the property.Canopy, which has been selling assets and working to cut costs, says net proceeds received from the sale will be used primarily to pay down the company’s senior secured credit facility.The company announced earlier this year that it was winding down operations at the Hershey Drive facility as part of a plan to lay off 800 workers.The sale follows the centralization of the company’s post-harvest manufacturing at its former beverage facility in Smiths Falls and the consolidation of its flower cultivation at the company’s sites in Kincardine, Ont., and Kelowna, B.C.Canopy says once the Hershey sale is complete it will have sold seven properties for a total of $155 million since...

North Korea is preparing for a new round of weapons tests, South Korean spy agency says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:18:46 GMT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea is preparing for a new round of provocative weapons displays such as long-range missile tests and a spy satellite launch, as it ramps up illicit activities to support its fragile economy, South Korea’s intelligence service told lawmakers Thursday.North Korea’s chronic economic hardships and food shortages have worsened as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and U.N. sanctions. But it still has conducted a record number of missile tests since last year amid suspicions that its weapons programs are funded by illegal cyber activities and covert exports of banned items. The National Intelligence Service told lawmakers in a closed-door briefing that North Korea’s economy shrank each year in 2020-2022 and its gross domestic product last year was 12% less than in 2016, according to Yoo Sang-bum, one of the lawmakers who attended the briefing.Outside experts believe North Korea’s current food shortages and economic troubles are the worst since leader Kim ...

Sweden raises its terror threat level to 2nd-highest following recent Quran burnings

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:18:46 GMT

STOCKHOLM (AP) — Sweden on Thursday raised its terrorism alert level one notch to the second-highest setting, following recent Quran burnings in the Scandinavian country by a handful of anti-Islam activists, which sparked angry demonstrations in Muslim countries.The Scandinavian country’s domestic security service, SAPO, said the overall security situation has deteriorated and the risk of terrorism in Sweden was now at level four — “high” — on its five-point scale. It was the first time since 2016 that SAPO raised the alert to that level.Sweden has in recent weeks warned citizens abroad and businesses linked to the country to “observe increased vigilance and caution” following a string of public Quran burnings by an Iraqi asylum-seeker. Earlier this year, a far-right activist from Denmark burned the Quran outside the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm.Police have allowed the protests, by a handful of demonstrators, citing freedom of speech.Like many Western countries, Sw...

Hawaii is vowing to protect landowners on Maui from being pressured to sell after wildfires

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:18:46 GMT

LAHAINA, Hawaii (AP) — Hawaii’s governor vowed to protect local landowners from being “victimized” by opportunistic buyers when Maui rebuilds from deadly wildfires that incinerated a historic island community and killed more than 100 people.Gov. Josh Green said Wednesday that he instructed the state attorney general to work toward a moratorium on land transactions in Lahaina, even as he acknowledged the move would likely face legal challenges. “My intention from start to finish is to make sure that no one is victimized from a land grab,” Green said at a news conference. “People are right now traumatized. Please do not approach them with an offer to buy their land. Do not approach their families saying they’ll be much better off if they make a deal. Because we’re not going to allow it.”Since flames consumed much of Lahaina just over week ago, locals have feared that a rebuilt town could become even more oriented toward wealthy visitors, according to Lahaina native Richy Palalay...

Thursday Forecast: Thunderstorms likely, high winds

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:18:46 GMT

Thursday: Showers and some thunderstorms are likely this morning as southwest winds gust up to 30-35 mph under mostly cloudy skies. The clouds will decrease this afternoon, but a slight chance for showers or storms will linger in areas east of I-57.  Breezy northwest winds will help keep temperatures in the upper 70s this afternoon.  Chicago Weather | Tom Skilling and the WGN Weather Center's Forecast (wgntv.com)Thursday Night: Tonight, the skies will become clear.  Some patchy fog is possible as lows fall into the upper 50s.Chicago Area Radar | WGN TV

Kyle Rittenhouse starts Texas nonprofit to fight gun reform

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:18:46 GMT

(NewsNation) — Conservative activist Kyle Rittenhouse has launched a nonprofit dedicated to fighting gun reform efforts and defending the Second Amendment. Rittenhouse was acquitted of first-degree intentional homicide and four other charges related to the fatal shooting of two Black Lives Matter protesters in Kenosha, Wisconsin in 2020, an act he said was self-defense. After moving to Texas, Rittenhouse has become involved in Texas politics, rallying with right-wing candidates, including a Texas secessionist leader. The Texas Tribune first reported on the nonprofit, which filed papers with the Texas secretary of state's office in July 2023. According to the papers, the goal of The Rittenhouse Foundation is to protect Second Amendment rights through education and legal assistance. Trump: Report on Monday will result in ‘complete exoneration’ in Georgia Rittenhouse supporters donated more than $2 million to aid his legal defense, but conservative politicians and activists complaine...

Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis put California beach home on Airbnb

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:18:46 GMT

(KTLA) – Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis would like to host you at their guest house in Santa Barbara, California, this weekend. The couple made the announcement on Instagram on Tuesday. Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis poke fun at controversy over their bath-time routine for kids "I have a really dumb idea," Kutcher explained to Kunis in the video. “It’s dumber than my mustache, I promise … I think we should have complete strangers come and stay with us at the beach. It’s so nice here."Kunis appeared to laugh in disbelief, while Kutcher assured her he was being serious. "I think they'll like it," the "That 70's Show" actor said. Kunis agreed."OK, so we're doing it? Great!" Kutcher said, finalizing the plans while his partner appeared to be processing the idea. Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis play ping pong at Clayton Kershaw's 6th Annual Ping Pong 4 Purpose on Aug. 23, 2018, in Los Angeles. (Christopher Polk/Getty Images for Kershaw's Challenge)"It’s not the craziest idea I’ve had … st...

Texas woman charged with threatening to kill judge in Trump case, Texas Democrat 

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:18:46 GMT

(The Hill) -- A Texas woman has been charged with threatening to kill the judge overseeing former President Donald Trump’s 2020 election case and a House Democrat who is running for Houston mayor.Abigail Jo Shry called Judge Tanya Chutkan’s chambers at the federal courthouse in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 5, just days after Trump was indicted on charges stemming from his efforts to overturn the 2020 election. After investigators traced her call, she later admitted to making the threatening phone call.Court documents show that she called Chutkan a racial slur before threatening to kill anyone who comes after Trump, all Democrats in Washington, D.C., — including Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, a 15-term Democrat who announced in March that she would run for the local election in Houston — and members of the LGBTQ community. She told Chutkan that “you are in our sights, we want to kill you,” according to the documents. Trump refusal to sign loyalty pledge puts RNC in bind Prosecutors a...