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Germany’s biggest theme park to reopen after large fire forces evacuation

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:23:59 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s biggest theme park will reopen to visitors on Tuesday after a large fire the day before sent a dense plume of black smoke billowing into the sky that was visible for miles.The Europa-Park in the town of Rust, near the French border, was to open with only minor restrictions after the blaze Monday, the German news agency dpa reported. The fire broke out in a control room for an attraction on Monday afternoon at a time when some 25,000 people were visiting the park. Fire alarms functioned properly and the park was evacuated as some 450 firefighters, police and emergency personnel rushed to the scene, dpa reported. Two firefighters were lightly injured but no visitors were harmed. The cause of the fire is still under investigation and the area directly around the scene will remain closed while the rest of the park is reopened, officials said.Europa-Park is a popular tourist destination that drew more than 6 million visitors last year, mostly from Germany, F...

Biden is ready to fete India’s leader, looking past Modi’s human rights record and ties to Russia

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:23:59 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is, on many counts, a curious choice for President Joe Biden to honor with a state visit.Since Russia’s Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine 16 months ago, India has boosted its economy by purchasing increasing quantities of cheap Russian oil.Human rights groups and political opponents have accused Modi of stifling dissent and introducing divisive policies that discriminate against Muslims and other minorities. And India’s foreign minister, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, has espoused a worldview in which there are no allies or friends, only “frenemies.”But Biden, who will welcome Modi to the White House on Thursday for a state visit, has made clear he sees U.S. ties to India — the world’s biggest democracy and one of its fastest growing economies — as a defining relationship. New Delhi, as Biden sees it, will be essential to addressing some of the most difficult global challenges in coming years, including climate...

Disciplinary hearing against Trump attorney John Eastman begins in California

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:23:59 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — An effort to disbar conservative attorney John Eastman, who devised ways to keep former President Donald Trump in the White House after his defeat the 2020 election, will begin Tuesday in Los Angeles.Eastman is expected to spend the day testifying before the State Bar of California in a proceeding that could result in him losing his license to practice law in the state. He faces 11 disciplinary charges stemming from his development of a dubious legal strategy that was aimed at helping Trump remain in power by disrupting the counting of state electoral votes.The State Bar’s counsel will seek Eastman’s disbarment during a hearing before the State Bar Court that’s expected to last at least eight days. If the court finds Eastman culpable of the alleged violations it can recommend a punishment such as suspending or revoking his law license. The California Supreme Court makes the final decision.Eastman is scheduled to testify in his own defense Tuesday...

What we know about the Titanic-bound submersible that’s missing with 5 people onboard

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:23:59 GMT

A search is underway for a deep-sea vessel that went missing with five people aboard after it dove toward the deteriorating wreck site of the Titanic ocean liner. The U.S. Coast Guard is leading the search for the small craft, named Titan, in the North Atlantic Ocean. The remote area is where the Titanic struck an iceberg and sank in 1912, killing all but about 700 of the roughly 2,200 passengers and crew.The Titan’s dive on Sunday is one of many that have been made to the wreck by OceanGate Expeditions since 2021. The sunken ship is about 2.4 miles (3.8 kilometers) below the surface.The undersea exploration company has been chronicling of the ship’s decay as well as the underwater ecosystem that has sprung up around it over the last century. What we know so far: WHEN AND WHERE DID THE TITAN GO MISSING?The craft submerged Sunday morning, and its support vessel lost contact with it about an hour and 45 minutes later, according to the Coast Guard. The vessel was reported o...

Living la vida yoga: India’s Modi will bend leaders into shape on International Yoga Day

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:23:59 GMT

NEW DELHI (AP) — India’s prime minister has a reputation of casting himself as an ascetic. So when Narendra Modi leads foreign dignitaries and bureaucrats in a session for International Yoga Day on Wednesday at the United Nations’ Secretariat in New York, millions of Indians will take note. Yoga, an ancient discipline first practiced by Hindu sages, is now one of India’s most successful cultural exports after Bollywood. And it’s become a piece of India’s diplomacy. Surinder Goel, a 61-year-old yoga instructor in the capital, New Delhi, practices daily. He says the activity is “India’s contribution to the world.”“Our prime minister has done a great job in spreading yoga to the world,” Goel said. “Today, even the Muslim countries learn and follow it, only because of the PM.”Goel says yoga should be a daily practice worldwide, no matter how busy a person is.“He (Modi) is the busiest man, despite that he practices daily. When our PM can do Yoga daily, why can’t the common pe...

Inside the deepening rivalry between Ron DeSantis and Gavin Newsom

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:23:59 GMT

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom says there’s no chance “on God’s green earth” he’s running for president in 2024, but he wants to make clear that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is running, is “weak” and “undisciplined” and “will be crushed by Donald Trump.”DeSantis, meanwhile, likes to mock Newsom’s apparent “fixation” on Florida while insisting that the Democratic governor’s “leftist government” is destroying California.Welcome to one of the fiercest rivalries in U.S. politics, featuring dueling term-limited governors who represent opposite ends of the ideological spectrum from two of the nation’s largest and most influential states. Newsom and DeSantis will not face each other on any ballot in 2024, but in many ways, they are defining the debate from their corners of America as the presidential primary season gets underway.Newsom addressed his contempt for DeSantis and his loyalty to President Joe Biden in a recent interview just as the Florida governor laun...

Chicago area’s abysmal lack of rain to continue; “REX” block aloft deflecting rain; Tropics grow active as Tropical Storm “Bret” forms far out in the Atlantic

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:23:59 GMT

Chicago area’s abysmal lack of rain to continue; “REX” block aloft deflecting rain; Tropics grow active as Tropical Storm “Bret” forms far out in the AtlanticA dome of warm, rain-deflecting air aloft trapped in a blocking pattern aloft, will continue to limit rainfall this week. There is only a modest chance for isolated showers Friday—and only a slightly improved chance of some scattered showers or t-storms Sunday and Monday.Chicago’s 4.20” rain tally since April is 39% normal and more than a half foot (6.57”) below normal.TROPICAL ATLANTIC COMES ALIVE WITH THE CHRISTENING MONDAY MORNING OF “TROPICAL DEPRESSION 3” (NOW KNOWN AS TROPICAL STORM "BRET") BY THE NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER—A SYSTEM PREDICTED TO REACH HURRICANE STATUS IN COMING DAYS, POSSIBLY AS EARLY AS MID-WEEKTropical Storm "Bret" formed over the Atlantic just before 10am CDT Monday—a storm predicted to reach hurricane strength in coming days as it churns westward at close to 20 mph. As morning breaks in Chicago Tuesday...

Valentina's Tex Mex BBQ permanently closes Austin location with Buda opening

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:23:59 GMT

BUDA, Texas (KXAN)-- "If Valentina's goes to a brick and mortar, it has to maintain its same flavor," said Miguel Vidal, head chef, pit master, and co-owner of Valentina's Tex Mex BBQ. Vidal doesn't just mean the food, he's also talking about the flair. "All these panels down here, they're from our barbecue pits," he said as he pointed to his bar. Standing in the middle of his new storefront in downtown Buda, he points out a wall that will be dedicated to Chicano art. "It was never about being the best barbecue, or being the best Mexican restaurant, or being the best restaurant," he said. "It was about being able to do something for the right reason and represent what I felt wasn't here... represent for a culture that I thought didn't have really a true voice in the restaurant industry... what Chicanos... are doing in the backyard is not really represented anywhere. And I wanted to kind of showcase that."Vidal said they initially wanted to build at their south Austin food truck loca...

Never dead: Mike Yastrzemski’s walk-off splash hits gives SF Giants another improbable win

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:23:59 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO — By now, you should know not to count out these San Francisco Giants until the 27th and final out.Because — look! — they did it again.Silenced for six innings Monday night by longtime nemesis Michael Wacha, trailing the Padres by two runs entering the ninth inning, the Giants manufactured yet another come-from-behind win, extending their season-best winning streak to eight games, walking off their division rivals in improbable fashion.Mike Yastrzemski, who homered once already in the sixth and scored the tying run in the bottom of the ninth, launched a walk-off splash hit in the bottom of the 10th to beat the Padres, 7-4.Camilo Doval pitched a scoreless top of the 10th, stranding the automatic runner, to set up the game-winning rally in the bottom half.The Giants, who had mustered two runs on a pair of solo home runs through the first eight innings, rallied for two runs to tie the game in the ninth. Yastrzemski raced home to score the tying run, his outstretched hand ...

Bay Area home sales at lowest level in 20 years

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:23:59 GMT

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KRON) – Home sales in the Bay Area are at their lowest level in 20 years. KRON4 spoke to a realtor about why there are so few homes on the market.Michelle Elliot, a realtor with Coldwell Banker in the South Bay, was in the top 3% of sales for 2022 in Santa Clara County, but this year, things are different.“I’m in the top 1% in my county, and I’ve done about 40% less, and I’m still in the top 1% for my county,” she said.Elliot says COVID and the federal reserve interest rate hikes have led to fewer home sales. Group of bicyclists rides onto 580 freeway, prompting CHP warning “First is that, because the interest rate kind of popped up, it means that sellers that previously had a low-interest rate really don’t have that much incentive to sell their property and get into a larger property or change their interest rate,” she said. A report released earlier this month said Bay Area real estate prices have also dropped the fastest in the country.Jeff Tucker, a seni...