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Belarusian leader approved forced transfers of Ukrainian children, says opposition figure

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:47:12 GMT

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — A Belarusian opposition activist says that he has provided the International Criminal Court with materials allegedly detailing President Alexander Lukashenko’s involvement in the forcible transfer of Ukrainian children to Belarus, accusations angrily rejected by Minsk.Lukashenko has been Moscow’s closest ally, allowing the Kremlin to use Belarusian territory to send troops and weapons into Ukraine, welcoming a continued Russian military presence in Belarus and the deployment of some of Russia’s tactical nuclear weapons there. The authoritarian leader has also agreed to a “union state” project that has seen Moscow and Minsk tighten their economic, political and defense ties, while so far stopping short of a full merger. Pavel Latushka, a former Belarusian culture minister, said Tuesday that the materials he has handed over to the ICC indicate that more than 2,100 Ukrainian children from at least 15 Russia-occupied Ukrainian cities have been f...

NATO chief convenes July 6 talks hoping to convince Turkey to let Sweden join

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:47:12 GMT

BRUSSELS (AP) — NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Wednesday that he has called a meeting of senior officials from Turkey, Sweden and Finland on July 6 to try to overcome Turkish objections to Sweden joining the military organization.The meeting is a last-ditch effort by Stoltenberg to have the Nordic country standing among NATO’s ranks as a member at a major summit next month. It would be a highly symbolic moment and another indication of how Russia’s war in Ukraine is driving countries to join the Western alliance.“The time is now to welcome Sweden as a full member of NATO,” Stoltenberg told reporters as he announced the date for the meeting. Foreign ministers, intelligence chiefs and security advisors from Turkey, Sweden and Finland, which joined NATO in April, will be taking part in the talks in Brussels.NATO requires the unanimous approval of all members to expand. Turkey accuses Sweden of being too lenient on groups that Ankara says pose a security threat, incl...

Families worry over the future of Medicaid caregiver payments that were expanded during the pandemic

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:47:12 GMT

Nathan Hill started receiving $12.75 an hour from a state Medicaid program to help care for his severely disabled son during the pandemic, money he said allowed his family to stop using food stamps.The program was designed to provide a continuation of care and ease a home health worker shortage that grew worse after COVID-19 hit.But now, with the COVID-19 public health emergency over, he worries that the extra income will disappear. Some states have already stopped payments while others have yet to make them permanent. “The success of this during the pandemic was tremendous … for the first time we were able to pay our own way,” said the Meridian, Idaho, resident. “We’re not relying on charities to help us pay our rent and utilities.”A total of 39 states, with the help of the federal government, either started paying family caregivers or expanded the population eligible for payment during the pandemic, according to a survey last summer by KFF, a non-profit that studies health care is...

Your DoorDash driver? He’s the company’s co-founder

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:47:12 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — On a recent afternoon in San Francisco, a DoorDash driver was circling the neighborhood — first in his car, then on foot — trying to find the restaurant where he needed to pick up two orders. Finally, he Googled the location and realized DoorDash’s app sent him to the wrong address.It’s an error he vowed to fix, and he probably will. Because that worker is Andy Fang, DoorDash’s chief technology officer and one of the company’s three co-founders.“If it happens with one restaurant, it might actually be happening with a lot of other restaurants as well,” Fang said after he retrieved the orders and settled back into his car. “If we can see why that happened, maybe we can fix other issues too.”Fang is one of a growing number of executives who occasionally do the hourly work that makes their companies hum. Starbucks’ new CEO, Laxman Narasimhan, is a trained barista and puts in a half-day of work at a store each month. Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi and Lyft CEO David Rish...

Oak Flat Timeline: Native American vs. pro-mining interests

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:47:12 GMT

SUPERIOR, Ariz. (AP) — Oak Flat, a piece of national forest land in central Arizona, is at the heart of a years long struggle between Native American groups and mining interests that both consider it important for their future. Resolution Copper, a subsidiary of international mining giants Rio Tinto and BHP, wants to develop the large deposit of copper ore deep under Oak Flat into a massive mine. The nonprofit Apache Stronghold considers the land sacred and say it should be preserved for religious ceremonies. The project is on hold pending an environmental review that the Forest Service earlier withdrew to consult further with tribes and others. There is no time frame for its completion. Here is how developments have played out over nearly a decade: November 2013: Resolution Copper introduces its initial general plan of operations for a proposed mine at Oak Flat.Dec. 12, 2014: The U.S. Senate approves a must-pass military spending bill that included the Oak Flat land swap, giving th...

Indigo reports $49.6M full-year loss compared with $3.3M profit a year earlier

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:47:12 GMT

TORONTO — Indigo Books and Music Inc. reported a loss of $49.6 million its latest financial year which saw a cyberattack take down its website and payment systems and compromise the personal information of some current and former employees. The retailer says the loss amounted to $1.78 per diluted share for the 52-week period ended April 1 compared with a profit of $3.3 million or 12 cents per diluted share in the same period a year earlier.Revenue totalled $1.058 billion, down from $1.062 billion in the prior year. Indigo also announced the appointment of Donald Lewtas, Joel Silver and Markus Dohle to its board of directors. Earlier this month, four directors quit the retailer’s board including Chika Stacy Oriuw, who stepped down “because of her loss of confidence in board leadership and because of mistreatment.”The company also said in the same statement on June 7 that founder and executive chair Heather Reisman, who stepped down as chief executive last year, will...

Airline travel delays pick up early and are expected to grow steadily worse as holiday weekend nears

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:47:12 GMT

Travelers are getting hit with delays at U.S. airports again early Wednesday, an ominous sign heading into the long July 4 holiday weekend, which is shaping up as the biggest test yet for airlines that are struggling to keep up with surging numbers of passengers.As of early morning, more than 900 flights have been delayed in the U.S., according to FlightAware. Cancellations topped more than 670 flights. Cancellations and delays were most severe along the East Coast early and were growing worse rapidly. Disruptions are expected to spread West. The delays are being compounded by thunderstorms that raked the Northeast on Tuesday. At various times, the Federal Aviation Administration held up flights bound for LaGuardia Airport in New York and Reagan Washington National and Baltimore-Washington airports near the nation’s capital.About 6,500 flights were delayed and about 1,900 canceled on the East Coast Tuesday. United Airlines, with a major hub in Newark, New Jersey, canceled about 500 ...

Stock market today: Wall Street mixed following an early week rally

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:47:12 GMT

TOKYO — Trading is uneven on Wall Street early Wednesday, one day after a rally that was fueled by optimism over economic data suggesting the American economy is in better shape than feared. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.1% before the bell and futures for the S&P 500 ticked down 0.1%. On Tuesday, the S&P 500 gained 1% and resumed the upward climb that had carried it earlier this month to its highest level in more than a year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.6% Tuesday, while the Nasdaq composite gained 1.6%.Reports on the U.S. economy have been largely stronger than expected. A reading on consumer confidence jumped to its highest level since the start of 2022, and orders for long-lasting manufactured goods unexpectedly grew, beating economists’ forecasts for a pullback. “Following some early week jitters, we’ve now seen a return to business-as-usual in global equities. Markets are taking some comfort from U.S. economic indicators which are showi...

More than 1,000 people told to evacuate as brushfire threatens homes in Scottsdale, Arizona

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:47:12 GMT

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — A brushfire threatened dozens of homes in northern Scottsdale and prompted evacuations as about 250 firefighters aided by air tankers battled the blaze, fire officials said.More than 1,000 people were under evacuation orders Tuesday night, authorities said.The blaze, called the Diamond Fire, broke out at around 5:15 p.m. and within hours had burned 3.9 square miles (10 square kilometers) of land without any containment, fire officials said. The fire was near McDowell Mountain Regional Park.Carlos Aguirre lives in a new community in north Scottsdale and said his wife called saying that their community was being evacuated.“She got out and didn’t take the dog so we’re a little nervous,” he said.Brendan Birdoes said he is building a home in the area that was being evacuated.“Our friend told us this was happening,” Birdoes said. “He was out here mountain biking and so we came out to see what was going on.”No homes had burned and no injuries were reported. T...

Countdown to 250th anniversary begins in the US with planners hoping it can unify a divided country

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:47:12 GMT

It’s three years until the United States celebrates its 250th anniversary, but festivities are already starting.The anniversary push will formally launch July 4 with an event during a Major League Baseball game between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Chicago Cubs at American Family Field in Milwaukee. The organization spearheading the celebration, known as America250, will start recruiting people to share their stories of what the country means to them.The country is headed toward the anniversary date as it remains riven politically, its citizens divided over how to view the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol and whether President Joe Biden was legitimately elected. Even decisions on where to shop or what beer to drink have been caught up in political fighting.Before the U.S. reaches its semiquincentennial — try saying that out loud — it will have to survive the 2024 presidential election, which is shaping up to be as divisive as its prior two contests.Times also were fra...