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Norway is rebuilding a reindeer fence at the border to stop the animals’ costly strolls into Russia

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:27:40 GMT

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Norway is rebuilding a dilapidated reindeer fence along its border with Russia in the Arctic to stop the animals from wandering into the neighboring country — costly strolls for which Oslo has to compensate Moscow over loss of grassland. Norwegian officials said Thursday that so far this year, 42 reindeer have crossed into Russia seeking better pastures and grazing land. The reindeer barrier along the Norway-Russia border spans 150 kilometers (93 miles) and dates back to 1954. The Norwegian Agriculture Agency said a stretch of about 7 kilometers (4 miles) between the Norwegian towns of Hamborgvatnet and Storskog would be replaced. The construction, with a price tag of 3.7 million kroner ($348,000), is to be completed by Oct. 1, the agency said.The work is a challenge, however, as the workers have to stay on the Norwegian side of the border “at all times” during construction, “which makes the work extra demanding,” said Magnar Evertsen of the ag...

Lawsuit over deadly seaplane crash in Washington state targets aircraft operator and manufacturer

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:27:40 GMT

SEATTLE (AP) — Representatives for all but one of the nine passengers killed in a seaplane crash near Washington state’s Whidbey Island are suing the aircraft’s charter operator and its manufacturer. The three lawsuits, filed Tuesday in King County Superior Court, say the companies are responsible for the victims’ deaths, The Seattle Times reported. The lawsuits name Northwest Seaplanes and De Havilland Aircraft of Canada, along with other aviation entities, as defendants. The single-engine De Havilland Canada DHC-3 Turbine Otter that crashed was owned by Northwest Seaplanes.The pilot and nine passengers died Sept. 4, 2022, when the plane, traveling to the Seattle suburb of Renton from Friday Harbor in the San Juan Islands, crashed into Mutiny Bay near Whidbey Island.The crash was “entirely preventable” and the aviation companies are liable for damages, one complaint alleges. All the lawsuits are similar in their allegations and in the descriptions of the pain and suffer...

Rescuers who freed children and adults from broken cable car honored by Pakistan’s prime minister

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:27:40 GMT

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan’s prime minister has paid tribute to the commandos and volunteers who rescued six children and two adults from the broken cable car where they dangled over a valley in a 16-hour ordeal.At the ceremony Thursday in Islamabad with the eight rescued people in attendance, caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar embraced the rescuers and handed them certificates in acknowledgement of their actions, saying he was proud of them. In televised remarks, Kakar said when he heard the news on Tuesday, he felt as if his own son was among those trapped in the broken cable car. The rescue hundreds of meters (yards) above a river canyon in Battagram, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in the northwest, transfixed Pakistanis and was widely hailed for its successful outcome. Initially, one of the youngest was grabbed by a commando attached to a helicopter by rope, while others were lowered to the ground with the help of volunteers using a makeshift chairlift built ...

‘Dune: Part Two’ release postponed to 2024 as actors strike lingers

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:27:40 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — The release of “Dune: Part Two,” one of the fall’s most anticipated films, has been postponed from November until next year, Warner Bros. confirmed Thursday. Denis Villeneuve’s science-fiction sequel had been set to open Nov. 3, but will instead land in theaters March 15 next year. With the actors strike entering its second month, “Dune: Part Two” had been rumored to be eyeing a move. Variety earlier this month reported Warner Bros. was mulling the delay. Warner Bros. is opting to wait until its starry cast can promote the follow-up to the 2021 Oscar-winning “Dune.” “Part Two” stars Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Dave Bautista, Javier Bardem, Stellan Skarsgård, Austin Butler, Florence Pugh and Léa Seydoux. “Dune: Part Two” is one of the biggest 2023 films yet postponed due to the ongoing strikes by actors and screenwriters. Recent releases have mostly opted to go ahead, despite lacking their stars on red carpets or on magazine covers. SAG-A...

Far away from Trump’s jail drama, Ron DeSantis and his family head to Iowa’s ‘Field of Dreams’

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:27:40 GMT

DYERSVILLE, Iowa (AP) — Ron DeSantis gripped a baseball, looked at his 5-year-old son, Mason, and lobbed him pitch after pitch. He grinned at Mason’s hits and rolled his eyes when his own pitches came in too low or too high. “Bad pitch, buddy,” the Florida governor said after one errant throw. “That one was my fault.”It was as far away as one could get from the drama dominating the world of politics. As former President Donald Trump was having his mug shot taken inside an Atlanta jail, DeSantis and his family went on a pilgrimage Thursday to the “Field of Dreams” movie set. The scene, with golden-tasseled rows of corn surrounding the field and its recognizable white farm house on the nearby hill, seemed an alternate reality from the proceedings involving Trump, who is far and away the 2024 Republican presidential frontrunner. Asked by reporters what he thought of the simultaneous moments, DeSantis quipped, “Well, I’m glad I’m at the ‘Field of Dreams.’”DeSantis played in the Li...

See you on Copacabana? Unusually balmy weather hits Brazil in a rare winter heat wave

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:27:40 GMT

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Summer is still four months away in the Southern Hemisphere but Brazil is contending with a balmy winter, with record high temperatures and dry weather across much of the country. The rare heat wave engulfed 19 of Brazil’s 26 states on Thursday, as well as the capital of Brasilia, according to the National Meteorological Institute, bringing also low humidity for the country that’s home to the Amazon tropical rainforest. Beachgoers hit many of the country’s famous sandy stretches, including Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana. Four state capitals recorded the year’s highest temperature on Wednesday. Cuiabá, in central-western Brazil, the highs reached 41.8 degrees Celsius (107.2 degrees Fahrenheit). Residents in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, Brazil’s two most populous cities, were also hit by the heat wave. In Rio, temperatures reached 38.7 C (101.7 F) on Thursday — the city’s second hottest day of 2023.Authorities said northeastern states ...

Toronto under severe thunderstorm watch into early overnight

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:27:40 GMT

The City of Toronto is under a severe thunderstorm watch as Environment Canada warns of torrential rainfall producing local amounts of 30 to 50 millimetres.Canada’s weather agency says thunderstorms will track southeastward over the region through Thursday evening. The primary threats will be hail and heavy rainfall.Nickel or toonie-sized hail is also possible.As of 10 p.m., other parts of the GTA are under a similar severe thunderstorm watch, including Halton-Peel, Hamilton and Waterloo-Wellington, among other regions. There are widespread severe thunderstorm warnings across southern Ontario.In Toronto, the rain will continue into Friday morning before easing up in the afternoon, leading to a clear evening.Temperatures are expected to drop to start the weekend, with more rain expected on Saturday with a daytime high of 23 C and the chance of scattered thunderstorms.Sunday is shaping up to be a sunny, albeit cooler, August day, with a forecasted daytime high of 22 C.

APD searching for 3 suspects allegedly involved in downtown Austin robbery

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:27:40 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- The Austin Police Department is asking for the public's help identifying three suspects allegedly involved in a robbery at a 7-Eleven in downtown Austin last week, APD said in a news release Thursday.Shortly after 6 p.m., Aug. 16, officers responded to the incident at 7-Eleven, 411 W. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., according to police.Surveillance cameras captured the suspects entering the stores and getting several fountain drinks before starting an argument with the cashier, the release said. According to police, the store employee noticed one of the suspects had stolen a can of Pringles as they left. The store employee chased the suspects outside trying to retrieve the unpaid item and was allegedly assaulted by one of the suspects, the release said.Suspect #1 is described as:Black Female17-25 years of ageHeavy buildPierced nose and tattoo on right forearmLast seen wearing a purple hair bonnet and gray headwrap, gray tank top, gray shorts, black Nike slides, mismat...

Homeless beds: Marshalling Yard opens ahead of schedule, Pecan Gardens sees delays

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:27:40 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- The City of Austin is moving forward with two massive efforts to house people who are homeless. One project, a large city warehouse -- the Marshalling Yard near the airport -- has rapidly been converted into roughly 300 emergency shelter beds. Austin Mayor Kirk Watson told KXAN Thursday the facility is already sheltering people, ahead of schedule. A City of Austin spokesperson said the city is moving people from camps, including those that are high-wildfire risk and those surrounding the Marshalling Yard, to the facility starting this week. As of Thursday, roughly a dozen people are being housed there. Those numbers will increase over the next two to three weeks, the city said. The other project, a years-long, city-funded conversion of the former Candlewood Suites motel in northwest Austin, will serve as permanent supportive housing for more than 70 homeless, elderly and disabled people under the eye of Family Eldercare. Council to approve $510K for emergency rep...

Will voters approve Lake Travis ISD bond for athletic facilities?

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:27:40 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) —  As growth in Lake Travis ISD continues, the district will soon begin work to add another high school."I have seen it come towards us, just the growth on 71," said Lake Travis ISD parent Jessica Walker. "I have seen new elementary school's built, I have seen new middle schools built."The district will also be adding a second high school by 2027. Enrollment in the district has grown to 11,400 students which is up about 33 students from 2019."Currently building high school two and in planning phase of high school 2," said Lake Travis Superintendent Paul Norton. Lake Travis ISD: 2022 bond would add new high school, elementary schools Voters approved the move to add new schools during the 2022 bond, but they rejected the part of the bond that would fund new athletic facilities, which was proposition C and looked to proved almost $94 million for athletic facilities and upgrades."There are no athletic facilities at high school 2," said Norton.The Lake Travis school ...