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Kerry to visit Beijing for climate talks amid efforts to revive relations between US and China

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:47 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry will travel to Beijing next week to discuss strategies for limiting global warming, amid a push by the world’s two largest economies to reengage on multiple issues following a sharp decline in contacts.Kerry’s office said he will arrive Sunday and depart July 19. He is due to meet with his counterpart Xie Zhenhua, with whom he has established a strong working relationship.“During meetings with PRC officials, Secretary Kerry aims to engage with the PRC on addressing the climate crisis, including with respect to increasing implementation and ambition and promoting a successful COP28,” Kerry’s office said in a press release, referring to China’s formal title, the People’s Republic of China, and the UN Climate Change Conference scheduled to be held in the United Arab Emirates in November and December. Kerry’s visit comes on the heels of one by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, who appealed to China on Satur...

After half a century, Israel moves to evict squatter from his cave home on the beach

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:47 GMT

HERZLIYA, Israel (AP) — Over half a century, Nissim Kahlon has transformed a tiny cave on a Mediterranean beach into an elaborate underground labyrinth filled with chiseled tunnels, detailed mosaic floors and a network of staircases and chambers.He lives in the one-of-a-kind artistic creation, which is a popular destination for local curiosity seekers, and Kahlon, 77, is quick to welcome visitors into his subterranean home.Now, Israel’s government wants him out.Fifty years after Kahlon moved into the home, Israel’s Environmental Protection Ministry has served him an eviction notice, saying the structure is illegal and threatens Israel’s coastline.“Instead of encouraging me, they’re denigrating me,” Kahlon said, sitting in his mosaic-tiled living room, rolling a cigarette. The sun glimmered on the sea outside his west-facing windows.Kahlon was living in a tent along the Herzliya beach north of Tel Aviv in 1973 when he says he began scratching into the sandstone cliffs and moved into ...

Chip maker Foxconn exits a semiconductor joint venture with Indian mining company Vedanta

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:47 GMT

NEW DELHI (AP) — Electronics giant Foxconn backed out of a $19.5 billion semiconductor joint venture with Indian mining conglomerate Vedanta Ltd. due to “external issues unrelated to the project.”Hon Hai Technology, known internationally as Foxconn, and Vedanta Limited announced their joint venture to manufacture chips and display panels in India in February 2022. On Monday, Foxconn announced it mutually agreed to part ways with Vedanta Limited. “This is not a negative. There was recognition from both sides that the project was not moving fast enough, there were challenging gaps we were not able to smoothly overcome, as well as external issues unrelated to the project,” read a statement released Tuesday from the Taiwan-based company.Vedanta said it has lined up other partners to set up India’s first semiconductor foundry to create the chips that are used in mobile phones, refrigerators and cars.Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government gave top priority to chipmaking as part o...

Deputies who reported a Texas sheriff to public corruption investigators say nothing was done

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:47 GMT

DALLAS (AP) — A Texas sheriff who’s been the subject of years of complaints about dysfunction and corruption was repeatedly reported to state and federal law enforcement by his own deputies — yet an outside investigation never gained momentum, according to interviews and records reviewed by The Associated Press.Two of San Jacinto County Sheriff Greg Capers’ former deputies said they tried to get the Texas Rangers to look into wrongdoing in the sheriff’s office when they worked there, but the state’s elite investigative agency did little to pursue a case. One of them later gave a detailed interview to an officer with the FBI’s regional public corruption taskforce but said it was met with the same result. Despite the reports from members of law enforcement, the state and federal agencies appear not to have pursued what an AP investigation found were longstanding accusations that Capers’ office has ignored misconduct and neglected basic police work while p...

Vermont slowly turns to recovery after being hit by flood from slow-moving storm

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:47 GMT

ANDOVER, Vt. (AP) — Floodwaters receded in Vermont cities and towns pummeled by a storm that delivered two months of rain in two days, allowing officials to focus on recovering from a disaster that trapped residents in homes, closed roadways and choked streets and businesses with mud and debris.In the capital city of Montpelier, where streets were flooded Tuesday by the swollen Winooski River, officials said that water levels at a dam just upstream appeared to be stable.“It looks like it won’t breach. That is good. That is one less thing we have to have on our front burner,” Montpelier Town Manager Bill Fraser said.Fraser said the dam remains a lingering concern but with the water receding the city was shifting to recovery mode. Public works employees were expected out Wednesday to start removing mud and debris downtown and building inspections will start as businesses begin cleaning up their properties.The slow-moving storm reached New England after hitting parts of New York ...

China sends large group of warplanes, navy ships towards Taiwan in forceful display

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:47 GMT

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — China sent navy ships and a large group of warplanes, including fighter jets and bombers, toward Taiwan over two days, the island’s defense ministry said on Wednesday, before its annual military exercises aimed at defending itself against a possible invasion.The Chinese People’s Liberation Army sent 38 warplanes and 9 navy vessels around Taiwan, between 6 a.m. Tuesday to 6 a.m. Wednesday. From Wednesday morning until noon time, the military flew another 30 planes, among which included J-10 and J-16 fighters.Of these, 32 crossed the midline of the Taiwan Strait, an unofficial boundary that had been considered a buffer between the island and mainland. Later on Wednesday, another 23 planes crossed the midline. Taiwan is scheduled to hold the annual Han Guang exercise later this month, in which its military will hold combat readiness drills against preventing an invasion. It will also conduct the annual Wan’an exercises aimed at preparing civilians for ...

NL snaps All-Star Game losing streak, tops AL 3-2 behind Elias Díaz homer

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:47 GMT

SEATTLE (AP) — Shining brightly in the Emerald City, the National League snapped a losing streak that lasted more than a decade.An unheralded catcher from Colorado delivered the big blow.Elias Díaz hit a two-run homer off Félix Bautista in the eighth inning, and the NL snapped a nine-game losing streak in the All-Star Game with a 3-2 win over the American League on Tuesday night.The NL won for the first time since an 8-0 victory in 2012 in Kansas City, and Díaz became the first Rockies player to win the All-Star MVP award.“It feels incredible. When we all got here, we all talked about how we were going to bring home the win," said Díaz, who was non-tendered by the Pirates at the end of 2019. “I just didn’t realize it was going to be me to bring home the win.”Díaz drove a 2-2 pitch from Baltimore's hard-throwing closer deep to left to put the NL in front. Díaz was the lone representative for Colorado in his first All-Star Game appearance.“It does matter. We wanted...

Crews battle brush fire burning near Castaic Lake

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:47 GMT

Crews battled a brush fire that ignited in Castaic on Tuesday night, shutting down roads near the area.Firefighters first responded to the blaze, named the “Dry Fire,” around 9 p.m. as the flames continued spreading toward Castaic Lake.At the time, the flames were at a moderate rate of speed and grew from three acres in size to around 14 acres by 9 p.m., according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department.Firefighters work to extinguish the “Dry Fire,” as the flames continued spreading toward Castaic Lake on July 11, 2023. (OnScene.TV)Firefighters work to extinguish the “Dry Fire,” as the flames continued spreading toward Castaic Lake on July 11, 2023. (OnScene.TV)Firefighters work to extinguish the “Dry Fire,” as the flames continued spreading toward Castaic Lake on July 11, 2023. (OnScene.TV)Firefighters work to extinguish the “Dry Fire,” as the flames continued spreading toward Castaic Lake on July 11, 2023. (OnScene.TV)Firefighters work to extinguish the “Dry Fire,” as the flame...

Hollywood actors on verge of strike despite last minute mediation agreement

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:47 GMT

Hollywood is bracing for yet another strike as actors prepare to join writers on the picket lines, a move that could have serious economic consequences in production-heavy Los Angeles, as well as other cities in the United States and abroad.  The 160,000 members of SAG-AFTRA, the union that represents performers, say they are ready to walk off the job to demand better pay and job protections from major studios.  “All signs point to a strike,” said Jeremy Fuster, the labor and box officer reporter for the entertainment news outlet, The Wrap. Fuster added that having both the writer and actors striking at the same time could have a devastating impact on the film and television business.  “There is a huge economy in Los Angeles and other major production hubs, such as Atlanta, New York, London, Toronto and so many others that would lose billions of dollars, not to mention the livelihoods of thousands and thousands of below-the-line workers,” he explained.  Earlier Tuesda...

Arrest made in series of Santa Clara County arson fires

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:47 GMT

SANTA CLARA COUNTY – A 32-year-old man has been arrested in connection with more than a dozen arson fires during the past week in Morgan Hill and Gilroy, police said.The bout of blazes began on July 3 in Morgan Hill and continued through Monday night, the Morgan Hill and Gilroy police departments said in separate news releases. During that period, 10 fires were reported in Morgan Hill and eight in Gilroy.Morgan Hill police said the spree was preceded by 10 other suspicious fires along the Monterey Highway corridor – from West Edmundson-Tennant Avenue to Main Avenue – between May and June. The most significant of those blazes occurred at the Depot-Latala mixed-use project on Depot Street. The others involved vegetation, construction sites, Dumpsters and a Morgan Hill water pump shed.The search for the suspect intensified Monday, when a fire was reported around 8:15 a.m. at the ampm convenience store at 18605 Monterey Highway. Three and a half hours later, an employee at the Anritsu C...