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Body found by investigators a day after fire destroys hotel in southern Maine

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:14:55 GMT

KITTERY, Maine (AP) — The body of a person was found during a fire investigation after a fierce blaze destroyed a hotel in southern Maine, fire officials said Thursday.The fire destroyed the Days Inn in Kittery, a town along the New Hampshire line, on Wednesday. Officials with the Maine Fire Marshal’s Office said the body was found at about 2:15 p.m. on Thursday afternoon during an investigation.The identity of the victim is awaiting confirmation from the state medical examiner, officials said. The cause and origin of the fire remain under investigation, they said.Kittery Fire Chief David O’Brien said building owner Kamlesh Patel has been cooperating with the investigation. The building is a total loss, O’Brien said.A person answering a phone at a business listing for Patel said the owner was unavailable and declined to comment further.Kittery issued violation notices for code problems at the hotel several years ago, O’Brien said. He said every issue that...

Howie Carr: Who’s the ‘zealot’ now, Rachael? [+her texts]

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:14:55 GMT

The most amazing thing about the downfall of US attorney Rachael Rollins is that it actually happened at all.Given her status as a member of multiple protected classes, I believed she was totally immune, invulnerable.And you know what – so did Rachael, obviously, or she wouldn’t have behaved in such a brazen fashion.How many times must I repeat the obvious, ancient wisdom?“Never write when you can speak, never speak when you can nod, and never nod when you can wink.”And to update to today: “And never, ever text. Period.”Rachael Rollins is a textbook example of why some prominent figures never text, period. Even a single ill-considered thought can sink you forever, at least if you’re not in a Democrat-protected class. But the lesson of Rachael Rollins is, at some point, you can go so far off the rails that even the protected-class shields fail.Look at the texts between her and Ricky Ricardo Arroyo, the Boston city councilor who was running last year for district attorney of Suffolk C...

North County schools locked down after report of suspicious person

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:14:55 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- Three North County schools were placed on lock down Thursday afternoon after a student reported seeing a suspicious person in the area, authorities said.According to the Oceanside Police Department, a call came in around 1:24 p.m. from a staff member at Palmquist Elementary School reporting that a student saw an unknown individual in a heavily wooded hillside to the west of the campus on the 1800 block of California Street. Man shot, killed at Campland on the Bay; suspect arrested The staff member also reported that the student believed the suspicious person possibly had a weapon, police said. After the call, OPD says Palmquist Elementary School, Lincoln Middle School and Oceanside Adventist School were all locked down while police responded and searched the area.A team searched the hillside where the student reported seeing the individual while a separate search team simultaneously conducted a safety sweep of the school grounds, OPD explained. An aerial team was also...

NEED TO KNOW: Construction spots impacting your drive to cottage country

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:14:55 GMT

The Victoria Day long weekend is the unofficial kick off to summer with motorists heading to cottage country in droves to soak up the warmer weather.But road construction is also kicking into high gear, so CityNews has put together a list of the major construction spots affecting cottage routes to make your drive up as smooth as possible.Leaving the GTABoth Highway 401 and Highway 400 will be impacted by construction this season.On the 401 eastbound, rehabilitation work through Scarborough and into Pickering is ongoing. Currently, the collector lanes are reduced between Neilson and Whites roads. Resurfacing and bridge work will make it a tight squeeze for drivers as this project continues through 2025.Ontario’s Ministry of Transportation (MTO) is also scheduled to begin work to remove both the Simcoe and Albert streets bridges over the 401 in Oshawa to prepare for future widening. This may also require lane restrictions but work on this project has already been delayed by several ye...

Missouri governor to announce his pick as new St. Louis prosecutor after Kim Gardner resignation

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:14:55 GMT

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Republican Missouri Gov. Mike Parson on Friday will announce his pick to serve out the remainder of Kim Gardner’s term as the chief prosecutor in St. Louis, following her sudden departure earlier this week.Parson will be joined by Democratic Mayor Tishaura Jones and Police Chief Robert Tracy as he announces Gardner’s replacement as circuit attorney, a news release said. The appointee will fill out the term that runs through 2024.Gardner, 47, had been the subject of an ouster effort by Republican Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey. Simultaneously, GOP-led state lawmakers were considering a bill allowing Parson to appoint a special prosecutor to handle violent crimes, effectively removing the bulk of Gardner’s responsibilities. She also faced possible contempt of court after her office failed to have an attorney present for the start of a trial.Gardner announced on May 4 that she would resign effective June 1. Then unexpectedly on Tuesday, she announc...

Saudi Arabia’s surge of diplomacy brings Syria’s Assad, Ukraine’s Zelenskyy to Arab summit

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:14:55 GMT

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Saudi Arabia hosted an Arab League summit on Friday in which Syrian President Bashar Assad was welcomed back after a 12-year suspension and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made a surprise visit to rally support against Russia.Russian airstrikes have left a swath of destruction across both countries, but in Syria they came at Assad’s invitation and helped him cling to power through years of grinding civil war. Several other Arab states have maintained warm ties with Moscow while remaining largely neutral on the Ukraine war.The odd pairing of the two leaders in the same forum is the result of a recent flurry of diplomacy by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is pursuing regional rapprochement with the same vigor he previously brought to the oil-rich kingdom’s confrontation with its archrival Iran. In recent months, Saudi Arabia has restored diplomatic ties with Iran, is ending the kingdom’s yearslong war against Iran-backed rebe...

Stock market today: Wall Street opens higher, on track for best weekly gain since March

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:14:55 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street is ticking higher as it heads towards its best week since March, despite a long list of worries hanging over it. The S&P 500 was 0.2% higher in early trading Friday and on pace for a 2% gain for the week. That would break a long, listless stretch where it failed to rise or fall by 1% for six straight weeks. The Dow was just barely higher while the Nasdaq composite was up 0.2%. Rising hopes that the U.S. government can avoid a disastrous default on its debt have been one of the main engines for the market.THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.Wall Street pointed toward gains before the bell Friday, potentially setting up markets for their best week since March as optimism about a U.S. debt ceiling deal grew heading into the weekend.Futures for the Dow Jones industrials and S&P 500 each rose 0.2% in premarket trading.Hopes are high that the United States Congress would reach a deal to avoid defaulting on the nation’s...

Russia-Georgia flights resume despite protests, strained ties

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:14:55 GMT

MOSCOW (AP) — Direct flights resumed on Friday between Russia and Georgia amid protests and sharp criticism from the South Caucasus nation’s president, just over a week after the Kremlin unexpectedly lifted a four-year-old ban despite rocky relations.Georgian police on Friday afternoon dispersed protesters who had gathered at Tbilisi airport to meet an Azimuth Airlines flight from Moscow, the first to arrive from Russia since July 2019, with signs and slogans criticizing the Kremlin and what they described as the current Georgian government’s pro-Russia course.Georgia’s pro-Western president, Salome Zourabichvili, who has previously clashed with the government over mending ties with Moscow, also voiced her opposition in a tweet posted on Friday.“Despite the opposition of the Georgian people, Russia has landed its unwelcome flight in Tbilisi. No to flights to Russia!,” Zourabichvili said.Russian President Vladimir Putin last Wednesday unexpectedly abolished visas for Georgian nationa...

Gunman kills one, wounds another at General Motors plant in Ohio

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:14:55 GMT

MORAINE, Ohio (AP) — Police say a man shot two people at a General Motors engine factory in Ohio, killing one and wounding another before wounding himself.Officers and firefighters responded just after 9 p.m. Thursday to a report of an active shooter at the DMAX plant, Moraine Police Sgt. Andrew Parish said.Parish said the suspect “targeted” the two victims. One died at the scene and the other was transported to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The suspect also shot himself and was transported to a hospital for treatment, Parish said. Other people were injured while the workplace was being evacuated, he said.The DMAX plant in Moraine provides diesel engines for pickup trucks, according to the General Motors website. It’s a 60/40 joint venture between GM and Isuzu Motors that employs more than 800 workers and has built engines in Moraine since 1999.Pat Morrissey, GM’s vice president of corporate communications, said production at the plant has been suspended until...

In Cannes, Harrison Ford bids adieu to Indiana Jones

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:14:55 GMT

CANNES, France (AP) — As the Cannes Film Festival crowd stood in rapturous applause, a visibly moved Harrison Ford stood on the stage, trying to keep his emotions in check. The warmth of the audience and a clip reel that had just played had left Ford shaken. “They say that when you’re about to die, you see your life flash before your eyes,” he said. “And I just saw my life flash before my eyes — a great part of my life, but not all of my life.”If last year’s Cannes was partially defined by its tribute to “Top Gun Maverick” star Tom Cruise, this year’s has belonged to Ford. This time, it’s been far more poignant. Ford, 80, is retiring Indiana Jones, saying goodbye to the iconic swashbuckling archeologist more than 40 years after he first debuted, with fedora, whip and a modest snake phobia.It’s been a moving farewell tour — most of all for Ford, who has teared up frequently along the way. Speaking to reporters Friday, Ford was asked: Why give up Indy now...