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A second merchant ship leaves Ukraine’s port of Odesa following Russia’s exit from grain deal

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:22 GMT

A second container ship sailed Saturday through a temporary Black Sea corridor established by Ukraine’s government after Russia halted a wartime agreement aimed at ensuring safe grain exports from the invaded country’s ports. The Primus, a Liberian-flagged bulk carrier, left the port of Odesa on Saturday morning and was steaming south towards the Bulgarian port of Varna, according to data from marine traffic monitoring sites. Ukrainian lawmaker Oleksii Honcharenko also posted a photo of the vessel leaving port on his Telegram channel.The Primus’ departure came 10 days after the launch of another container ship that had been docked in Odesa since before Russia’s full-scale invasion of its neighbor, the Hong Kong-flagged Joseph Schulte. Analysts had surmised that China’s political closeness to Russia might have eased that ship’s passage and raised doubts whether vessels registered elsewhere would follow.The interim corridor, which Kyiv has asked the Internation...

Hawaii’s cherished notion of family, the ohana, endures in tragedy’s aftermath

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:22 GMT

LAHAINA, Hawaii (AP) — Families were torn asunder. A community is reeling with grief. More than 100 people have perished and hundreds more remain missing after flames and smoke barreled from the hills and annihilated the historic town of Lahaina. But even in places overwhelmed by despair and devastation, the Hawaiian spirit known as ohana endures.In the Hawaiian lexicon, ohana is a sensibility, a way of thinking that means family, belonging, community and so much more — solace in a time of calamity. It is a unifying principle in an increasingly fragmented world. And in recent weeks, amid misfortune, the word has taken on profound importance in a place appealing for help.“In times like this, ohana gets stronger,” says Dustin Kaleiopu, whose Maui roots date back to when monarchs ruled the islands.The kanaka of Hawaii, the Native Hawaiians who inhabit the islands, value ohana, which extends beyond the familial ties of blood. It is a life nourished by kinship.“In a small town like...

Toddler died in hot car parked outside South Carolina high school, coroner says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:22 GMT

CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — A toddler died inside a hot car on Friday after her mother forgot that she left the girl in the vehicle parked outside a South Carolina high school, according to a county coroner.Berkeley County Coroner Darnell Hartwell told The Post and Courier that he believes the 16-month-old girl died due to heat, although an autopsy will be performed. The temperature inside the car likely exceeded 100 degrees F (about 38 degrees C), the coroner said.The child’s mother works at Bishop England High School, in Charleston, and had parked her sport utility vehicle in front of the private school on Friday morning. A passerby found the child in a car seat roughly eight hours later and called 911, according to the coroner.Hartwell said the child could have survived only minutes inside the car.“I definitely feel confident that it was triple digits within that car at peak time of today,” he said.Bishop England canceled its Friday night football game and classes on Monday.“We...

Pittsburgh Steelers connect with Gaelic games to grow fan base in Ireland

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:22 GMT

DUBLIN (AP) — The Irish economy is getting a boost from the Notre Dame football game in Dublin. The Pittsburgh Steelers are benefitting, too.The NFL team has front-office representation in Dublin this weekend supporting American football initiatives and gathering intel on the Irish market now that it has marketing rights for Ireland and Northern Ireland as part of the NFL’s push to expand its audience internationally.The team has joined forces with the powerful Gaelic Athletic Association with an eye toward a regular-season game at Croke Park in the future, though no promises have been made.Daniel Rooney, the team’s director of business development and strategy, visited an amateur American football game featuring an Irish team during a visit to Donnybrook Stadium on Friday night. He did a coin toss and crowned a kicking champion.“First and foremost it’s about bringing American football to Ireland, north and south, bringing the game we love to a sports-hungry country that we think it...

Canada’s Bianca Andreescu withdraws from U.S. Open due to injury

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:22 GMT

Canadian Bianca Andreescu has withdrawn from the U.S. Open and will be replaced by a qualifier/lucky loser.The former U.S. Open champion pulled out of the Cincinnati Open with a stress fracture in her back.Bianca Andreescu has withdrawn from the #USOpen She will be replaced by a qualifier/lucky loser.— US Open Tennis (@usopen) August 26, 2023“During my match in Washington I started experiencing pain in my back that kept getting worse and I did everything I could the other night in Montreal to play at my highest level,” wrote Andreescu in a post shared on social media back on Aug. 12. “All of this led me to undergo medical examinations and sadly the results have revealed a small stress fracture in my back. This unfortunately means that I won’t be able to compete in Cincinnati.”The 23-year-old was ousted in the first round of the National Bank Open with a 6-3, 6-2 loss to Camila Giorgi. Post-match, Andreescu said she was dealing with joint pains in her back that kept her from pe...

Receiving death threats not regular part of Quebec elementary teacher’s job: tribunal

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:22 GMT

LÉVIS, Que. — A Quebec labour tribunal has found an elementary teacher suffered a workplace injury after a student brought knives to school and told classmates he planned to kill her. The teacher, identified only as K.R. in the ruling, says the November 2019 incident and the boy’s continued presence in her class led to an anxiety disorder.  According to the tribunal ruling, a school daycare worker found four butter knives in a seven-year-old’s backpack after other students told her that boy planned to kill his teacher.While students told the teacher about the incident, her colleagues didn’t say anything until after the boy had spent the morning in her class.Quebec’s labour board initially sided with her employer, a school service centre near Quebec City, and dismissed her workplace injury claim. But the tribunal overturned the decision, in part because receiving death threats is not one of the expected duties of a second-grade teacher. This report by The Cana...

2 women shot at Chicago White Sox game at Guaranteed Rate Field

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:22 GMT

CHICAGO — Two women who were at a White Sox game at Guaranteed Rate Field Friday night were injured by gunfire, according to police.Police said a 42-year-old woman suffered gunshot wound to the leg and transported to University of Chicago Medical Center and is currently in fair condition. Another 26-year-old woman suffered a graze wound to the abdomen and refused medical attention. The Chicago Police Department said the incident occurred around 7:25 p.m. The department did not share information on the incident until 9:55 p.m. Police said the incident did not seem to be an active threat. The post-game concert was cancelled with fans being told it was due to technical difficulties.White Sox security said the incident did not involve an altercation of any kind.It is still unclear what led to the shooting, if a gun got inside the stadium or if shots were fired inside the stadium.White Sox shared video footage of where the women were injured. The women who were injured are on the left si...

1 dead after crash involving semi-truck in Elk Grove Village

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:22 GMT

ELK GROVE VILLAGE, Ill. — A man is dead after a crash involving a semi-truck Friday evening in Elk Grove Village, according to police.The crash happened just before 6 p.m. near Devon Avenue and Nicholas Boulevard. 2 women shot at Chicago White Sox game at Guaranteed Rate Field Ricardo Gonzalez Jr., 25, who was driving the pick-up truck involved in the crash, died, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office.The crash is still under investigation by Elk Grove Village police and the Major Case Assistance Team.

Weekend Gardening with Tim Joyce: Girdling roots

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:22 GMT

Check out Weekend Gardening with Tm Joyce where WGN's 'Plant Daddy' tackles plant tips like girdling roots and more.Love the WGN Morning News? We love you, too. And you can have all the hijinks delivered to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign up and subscribe to our WGN Morning News newsletter.

Off-duty Kyle police officer shot at a San Marcos apartment complex

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:22 GMT

SAN MARCOS, Texas (KXAN) – An off-duty Kyle Police Department officer was shot at a San Marcos apartment complex early Saturday morning, according to the San Marcos Police Department. Just after midnight Saturday morning, San Marcos police were dispatched to the Encino Pointe Apartments at 1800 Post Road in response to a shooting. 911 calls referenced multiple gunshots at a unit in the building, according to SMPD. Kyle police said the officer lives and serves as the resident courtesy officer at the apartment complex. The officer told police that he heard gunshots or fireworks and approached a male and a female outside of an apartment unit, while wearing his police badge, to investigate the noises. The male pulled out a gun, pointed it toward the officer and fired two shots with one striking the officer, per SMPD. The officer was transported to Ascension Seton Hays Hospital in Kyle and is expected to recover, according to police. The officer involved in the shooting returned fire dur...