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Nigerian leader swears in 45-member Cabinet with a promise to fast-track reforms

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:25 GMT

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Nigerian President Bola Tinubu on Monday swore in 45 ministers nearly three months after his election, promising that his government will accelerate its development agenda.The Cabinet is intended to help improve Africa’s biggest economy and most populous country, where millions are grappling with economic hardship worsened by the new government’s policies which have had an immediate impact of further squeezing millions of poor and hungry Nigerians.At an inauguration ceremony in the capital, Abuja, Tinubu acknowledged Nigeria’s “daunting” challenges and said the Cabinet brings an opportunity to implement “long overdue reforms.” “We must hold each other responsible; we have to do the job to meet the expectations of all Nigerians,” the president told the ministers. It is Nigeria’s largest Cabinet since the country’s return to democracy in 1999, triggering criticisms about high government expenditure despite Tinubu’s promises to cut costs. Fewer than 20...

10 damaged homes remain uninhabitable, a week after Pennsylvania explosion that killed 6

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:25 GMT

PLUM, Pa. (AP) — Three houses at the center of a recent explosion near Pittsburgh that killed six people will need to be torn down and 10 others are not currently inhabitable, county officials said over the weekend.The Aug. 12 blast in Plum leveled one home and engulfed two neighboring houses in flames. The 10 uninhabitable homes will need to be inspected by structural engineers for next steps, an Allegheny County spokesperson said.Investigators with the county fire marshal’s office are still trying to determine the origin and cause of the explosion in a development about 20 miles (32 kilometers) east of Pittsburgh. All of the victims were found on the property of the home that exploded, an Allegheny County spokesperson said. One victim was found outside of the garage area. Four others were located in the basement and the sixth was located and rescued from the rear yard. He was transported to a trauma center, where he died several days later.Natural gas from an abandoned under...

Manchester United let Mason Greenwood leave despite criminal case being closed

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:25 GMT

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Manchester United said Monday that Mason Greenwood will leave the club despite a criminal investigation of possible attempted rape being closed by prosecutors six months ago. The 21-year-old England forward has not played for United since January 2022 and his future remained unclear during the club’s own investigation.“All those involved, including Mason, recognize the difficulties with him recommencing his career at Manchester United,” the club said in a statement. “It has therefore been mutually agreed that it would be most appropriate for him to do so away from Old Trafford, and we will now work with Mason to achieve that outcome.”Greenwood said it was “the best decision for us all … to continue my football career away from Old Trafford, where my presence will not be a distraction for the club.”Greenwood had been implicated in controlling and coercive behavior and assault relating to a young woman after images and videos were posted online. Prosec...

Montreal police investigating after overnight violence leaves one dead, two injured

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:25 GMT

Montreal police are investigating separate violent incidents last night that left one person dead and two people injured.Police say they responded to a call about gunshots a little after midnight in the St-Michel borough.They say officers and ambulance crews arrived to find an injured 25-year-old man, who was pronounced dead at the scene. About one hour later police responded to a 911 call in the nearby Montréal-Nord borough and found a 52-year-old man in an apartment who they say was injured by a sharp object.Police say a 34-year-old man with apparent stab wounds approached officers who were investigating the scene.Montreal police are not confirming whether the two injured men knew each other or were victims of the same violent incident.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 21, 2023.The Canadian Press

Man dies while trying to rescue mother and child from New Hampshire river

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:25 GMT

ALBANY, N.H. (AP) — A Massachusetts man died over the weekend while rescuing relatives from a New Hampshire river in the second such death in the state less than a week, officials said.A mother and a child became stuck around midday Sunday in a fast stretch of the Swift River in Albany, New Hampshire, the state Department of Public Safety said in a news release.The father, Vincent Parr, 37, of Lawrence, Massachusetts, went in to help and also got caught in the current, investigators said.The mother and child reached shore safely, but bystanders had to bring Parr to the riverbank. He was pronounced dead after lifesaving efforts at the scene.Parr’s effort to rescue someone in trouble was typical of him, his mother, Becca Parr, said Monday.“From the day he was born, he was so selfless,” she said. “I know he didn’t think for a moment, ‘I could die,’ he just did what he could. He was a loving soul, kind-hearted and never put himself first.”Parr’s death remains und...

Spain’s king begins talks with party leaders in hopes of choosing one to form a government

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:25 GMT

MADRID (AP) — King Felipe VI began consultations with leaders of Spain’s political parties Monday to see which one has the best chance to form a government following an inconclusive national election last month.The July 23 election left no obvious coalition with a clear path to power. Parties on the left and the right received almost an equal number of seats. The king started his talks with the representatives of several smaller parties. He is expected to wrap up the sessions Tuesday, when he plans to receive acting Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, whose Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party finished second in the election, and Alberto Núñez Feijóo, whose right-of-center Popular Party won the most votes.Both Feijóo and Sánchez hope to receive the mandate to try to form a government, but it remains to be seen which of them can muster an absolute majority of 176 votes to support them in Spain’s 350-seat parliament.Sánchez’s Socialists, the center-left Sumar (Joining Forces) ...

LIVE: Tropical storm likely to make landfall in Texas tomorrow

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:25 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- We continue to monitor a tropical low in the Gulf of Mexico with a high chance of further development over the next 24 hours.Potential Tropical Cyclone 9Potential Tropical Cyclone 9 formed in the Central Gulf Monday morning, expected to strengthen into a tropical storm within the next 24 hours & make landfall in South Texas early Tuesday.Increasing chances for at least a tropical depressionBig PictureWe have an increasingly strong area of high pressure setting up in the Midwest, influencing the weather across most of the country.Heat DomeThe strong high pressure will steer the tropical low around it in a clockwise motion. That will help to pull the low nearly due west into South Texas. The strength of the high will serve to prevent the low from moving farther north, keeping the low on the periphery of the sinking air caused by the high. The rainfallThe strength of the high will serve to keep most of the rain away from Central Texas...

Tropical rain possible in parts of Central Texas

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:25 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- In case you've lost count, today is expected to be our 45th day in a row of triple digit heat and our 61st for the year... and if we don't get an isolated shower in the right spot tomorrow, the tally continues to climb.Afternoon highs will soar to the low 100s areawide today. A mix of sunshine and scattered clouds will stretch across the area with Excessive Heat Warnings/Heat Advisories and a Red Flag Warning in place this afternoon and evening.Red Flag Warning in effect 1 p.m. to 9 p.m. MondayHeat alerts in effect again Monday 1 p.m. to 9 p.m.Clouds will thicken up later tonight with a low (10%) rain chance ahead of our best chances for rain in weeks coming on Tuesday.Read all about Tuesday's rain chances and the tropical system in the Gulf of Mexico in our updated blog linked below.Tropical disturbance in Gulf UPDATED BLOG: WILL A TROPICAL LOW BRING RAIN TO CENTRAL TEXAS? Austin Interactive Weather Stats (2023) FIRST WARNING WEATHER: Stay up to date with you...

Vikings sign another quarterback, bring in XFL star Jordan Ta’amu

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:25 GMT

Another quarterback is coming to Vikings training camp.On Monday morning, the Vikings announced they have signed quarterback Jordan Ta’amu. This is the sixth team Ta’amu has joined as he tries to latch on in the NFL. He signed with the Houston Texans as an undrafted free agent and has also spent time with the Kansas City Chiefs, Detroit Lions, Washington Commanders and Carolina Panthers.Most recently, Ta’amu starred for the DC Defenders of the XFL, throwing for 1,894 yards and 14 touchdowns, and running 298 yards and 3 touchdowns. He was named the XFL’s Offensive Player of the Year.Originally from Pearly City, Hawaii, Ta’amu played a couple of seasons  at the New Mexico Military Institute before transferring to Ole Miss. In a total of 20 games as a Rebel, Ta’amu totaled 5,600 yards and 30 touchdowns through the air and added 507 yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground. He did not get selected in the 2019 NFL Draft.It’ll be interesting to see h...

Could the Twins move to six-man rotation? “I think that’s a possibility”

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:25 GMT

In the minutes after the final pitch is thrown, members of the coaching staff and the front office gather in manager Rocco Baldelli’s Target Field office to debrief and discuss the game they just watched.In that meeting on Sunday, one topic was the possibility of moving to a six-man rotation for the time being.“I think that’s a possibility. I do,” Baldelli said. “Before I walked down here to talk to (the media), it’s one of the things we were just talking about. And we’ll continue to talk about.”That’s because Dallas Keuchel had just thrown 6⅓ innings perfect innings before surrendering a double, and the man he replaced on the active roster, Joe Ryan, is nearly ready to return from a groin strain.If Keuchel had turned in a performance like the one he had last week against Philadelphia — six runs in 1⅔ innings innings pitched — perhaps the conversation would have been different. But his dominant effort against the Pirates was impossible to ignore.“He’s done everything we’ve ask...