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Biden OKs major Willow oil drilling in Alaska over protests

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 09:22:57 GMT

By MATTHEW DALY and CHRIS MEGERIAN (Associated Press)WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration said Monday it is approving the major Willow oil project on Alaska’s petroleum-rich North Slope, one of President Joe Biden’s most consequential climate choices that is drawing condemnation from environmentalists who say it flies in the face of the Democratic president’s pledges.The announcement comes a day after the administration, in a big move toward conservation, said it would bar or limit drilling in some other areas of Alaska and the Arctic Ocean.Biden’s Willow plan would allow three drill sites initially, which project developer ConocoPhillips has said would include about 219 total wells. A fourth drill site proposed for the project would be denied. The company has said it considers the three-site option workable. Houston-based ConocoPhillips will relinquish rights to about 68,000 acres of existing leases in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska.Climat...

President Biden to visit San Diego

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 09:22:57 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- President Joe Biden is headed to San Diego today for a meeting with the British and Australian Prime Ministers to discuss the countries' partnership and defense issues, according to the White House.The leaders are expected to announce a deal that would modernize Australia's fleet by equipping the country with a U.S. nuclear-powered attack submarine, as tensions mount with China. US, UK try to halt fallout from Silicon Valley Bank collapse Air Force One took off around 7 a.m. from Washington, D.C. and is expected to land at Naval Air Station North Island in Coronado around 11:50 a.m.Biden is expected to deliver remarks from San Diego on the meeting at 2 p.m. today.This visit will be the President's first trip to San Diego since last November.This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

Pakistan’s ex-PM Khan leads rally, ignores arrest warrants

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 09:22:57 GMT

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Former Prime Minister Imran Khan rallied thousands of supporters in eastern Pakistan on Monday as courts in the capital, Islamabad, issued two more arrest warrants for him over his failure to appear before judges in graft and terrorism cases, officials said. Since his ouster last April in a no-confidence vote in Parliament, Khan has routinely ignored arrest warrants and court summons in a string of cases against him, claiming they are a plot by the government of his successor, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, to discredit his campaign. The former cricket star turned Islamist politician has claimed that his ouster was illegal and a conspiracy by Sharif and Washington, which have denied the allegations. Khan’s critics say his flaunting of the courts is a maneuver to delay his trials on allegations of terrorism, contempt of court and graft.One of the warrants issued Monday was over charges that Khan sold state gifts and concealed assets while in office; the other i...

Alaska’s Willow oil project is controversial. Here’s why.

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 09:22:57 GMT

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The Biden administration is approving a major oil project on Alaska’s petroleum-rich North Slope that supporters say represents an economic lifeline for Indigenous communities in the region but environmentalists say is counter to President Joe Biden’s climate goals.The decision on ConocoPhillips Alaska’s Willow project, in a federal oil reserve roughly the size of Indiana, was revealed Monday.Q: What is the Willow project?A: The project could produce up to 180,000 barrels of oil a day, according to the company — about 1.5% of total U.S. oil production. The project is the largest proposed oil drilling on U.S. public land and the biggest oil field in Alaska in decades. Alaska Republican U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan said the development could be “one of the biggest, most important resource development projects in our state’s history.” On average, about 499,700 barrels of oil a day flow through the trans-Alaska pipeline, well below the late-1980s peak o...

Volkswagen to build EV battery plant in Ontario

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 09:22:57 GMT

ST. THOMAS, Ont. — Volkswagen has announced it plans to build an electric vehicle battery plant in St. Thomas, in southwestern Ontario.The European automaker says the Volkswagen Group and its battery company PowerCo will establish its first overseas “gigafactory” for battery cell manufacturing, with the start of production planned for 2027.The company signed an agreement last year with the federal government to work to identify suitable sites for such a facility in Canada, and they had also committed to investigate ways for Canada to contribute to Volkswagen’s battery supply chains, including raw materials and assembly.Ontario set the stage last month for the announcement, introducing and quickly passing a law adjusting the municipal boundaries for a 1,500-acre “mega site” in southwestern Ontario.Economic Development Minister Vic Fedeli said at the time that the site straddled St. Thomas and Central Elgin, and putting the entire piece of land within St....

‘The Last of Us’ TV adaptation resonates beyond gamers

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 09:22:57 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — In the HBO series “The Last of Us,” a fungal infection has taken over Earth, rendering the United States an apocalyptic landscape protagonists Joel and Ellie need to traverse. Fans unfamiliar with the video game, from which the series was adapted, might assume this is just another zombie show packed with action and gore.However, the story and the characters have subverted expectations and received praise from all corners. “The Last of Us,” whose first season concluded Sunday, has not only won over gamers with high expectations, but also people who don’t play video games. The series premiere drew 4.7 million viewers in the U.S., based on Nielsen and HBO data, making for HBO’s second-largest debut, behind “House of the Dragon.”“No one could have anticipated this, this reaction and how positive it’s been and how broad it’s been in its reach,” said Neil Druckmann, Naughty Dog co-president and the creator and writer of the video game, whose critically accla...

New this week: ‘Ted Lasso,’ U2 and ‘The Boston Strangler’

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 09:22:57 GMT

Here’s a collection curated by The Associated Press’ entertainment journalists of what’s arriving on TV, streaming services and music and video game platforms this week.MOVIES— Keira Knightley and Carrie Coon play the Boston Record American reporters Loretta McLaughlin and Jean Cole, who connected several Boston-area murders in the early 1960s to a single suspect they dubbed the Boston Strangler. The serial killer sexually assaulted and killed at least 11 women between 1962 and 1964. The case has been the subject of many books and movies over the years, but writer-director Matt Ruskin’s is the first to focus on the reporters. “The Boston Strangler” debuts on Hulu on Friday.— A new documentary on Netflix, “Money Shot: The Pornhub Story” arriving Wednesday, takes a look at the phenomenon of Pornhub and the accusations that the pornographic website hosted and profited from videos of rape and underage sex. The filmmakers speaks to lawyers, Pornhub employees who were told that “nothing w...

S&P/TSX composite down almost 100 points, U.S. markets rise despite bank failures

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 09:22:57 GMT

TORONTO — U.S. stock markets ticked higher mid-morning after a rocky start to what’s shaping up to be a volatile trading day amid fears of financial contagion in the U.S. after the second- and third-largest bank failures in that country’s history, while Canada’s main stock index edged lower on weakness in the energy and financial sectors. The S&P/TSX composite index was down 95.75 points at 19,679.17.In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 252.38 points at 32,162.02. The S&P 500 index was up 31.55 points at 3,893.14,while the Nasdaq composite was up 146.71 points at 11,285.60.The Canadian dollar traded for 73.06 cents US compared with 72.43 cents US on Friday.The April crude contract was down a dollar at US$75.68 per barrel and the April natural gas contract was up 15 cents at US$2.58 per mmBTU.The April gold contract was up US$44.10 at US$1,906.10 an ounce and the May copper contract was down a penny at US$4.04 a pound.This report by The Canadian Pr...

Rights group: Egypt withheld documents of dissidents abroad

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 09:22:57 GMT

Egypt’s authorities refused to produce or renew documents for dozens of journalists, critics and lawyers living abroad, a leading rights group said Monday, in a clampdown on dissent that reaches overseas.According to an investigation undertaken by U.S.-based Human Rights Watch last year, Egyptian authorities refused to provide or renew birth certificates, passports and other essential documents despite requests from some 26 Egyptians residing abroad.The 26 dissidents, journalists and lawyers were living in Turkey, Germany, Malaysia, Qatar and two other undisclosed countries in Africa and the Gulf when the investigation took place, HRW said. Egypt’s authorities did not immediately respond to The Associated Press’ request for comment.Since coming to power in 2013, President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi’s government has overseen a wide-ranging crackdown on dissent, jailing thousands. Authorities have targeted not only Islamist political opponents but also pro-democracy activists, journa...

Activists: Slow response led to 30 migrant deaths off Libya

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 09:22:57 GMT

MILAN (AP) — An activist network that supports rescue operations in the Mediterranean Sea is accusing Italy of failing to offer timely assistance to a smugglers’ boat in distress, resulting in a deadly shipwreck that left at least 30 migrants missing and presumed dead in Libya’s search-and-rescue area.Seventeen survivors were rescued in an operation about 100 miles off the Libyan coast Sunday partially coordinated by the Italian Coast Guard. The incident comes two weeks after another shipwreck off the coast of southern Italy left at least 79 people dead.The wrecks have focused attention on Italian and European protocols for responding to suspected smuggling boats; crossings through the deadly central Mediterranean Sea have doubled over past year.The migrants in the most recent incident died when their wooden boat capsized as a merchant vessel, the Froland, approached the boat in distress that was carrying nearly 50 people. Alarm Phone, which notifies authorities of migrants in need ...