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A US military drone crashes in Polish woodland during training

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:11:55 GMT

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — A U.S. military drone has crashed in the woods in southwestern Poland after contact was lost during training, Poland’s Defense Ministry said Friday. The ministry said that no one was hurt and there was no damage from the incident on Thursday afternoon. Polish media reported that an eyewitness saw an object crashing in the woods near the village of Trzebien and notified the fire brigade. The military were already there when the firefighters arrived, Piotr Pilarczyk, spokesman for the national fire command told Polish state news agency PAP. Pilarczyk said there were no explosions when the object, which had a wing span of about 8 meters (26 feet), crashed. In an email, the ministry told The Associated Press that the drone had collected by the U.S. side. Poland’s defense is on alert as neighboring Ukraine is fighting an all-out war against Russia’s military aggression. Trainers from several NATO member countries, including the UK, Canada, and Norway have been...

American freestyler Katie Ledecky faces youth as the world championships open in Japan

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:11:55 GMT

FUKUOKA, Japan (AP) — Katie Ledecky has never gone home with anything other than a gold or silver medal in the Olympics or world championships dating from the 2012 London Games.But it might happen Sunday in the women’s 400-meter freestyle on the opening night in the pool of the World Aquatics Championships. This is perhaps the most anticipated race of the entire eight-day program.One of the greatest freestylers the sport has ever seen, Ledecky is up against two younger stars: 16-year-old Summer McIntosh of Canada, and 22-year-old Ariarne Titmus of Australia.“Of course Summer and, of course Ariarne, have some incredibly fast times over the last two years,” the 26-year-old Ledecky said. “I know they’ll be right there and I know there are a lot of other contenders as well.” United States head coach Bob Bowman summed up the meet, particularly the first day.“There are definitely people out there with star quality in swimming,” he said. “There’ll be three of them in the ...

House aims to ease air travel delays with more money for air traffic controllers

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:11:55 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Aviation Administration would get more money to hire air traffic controllers and the mandatory retirement age for airline pilots would be raised under a bill approved Thursday by the House.The measure seeks to improve air travel, which has been plagued by delays and cancellations during its busiest times, and would reauthorize FAA programs for the next five years. It passed on a mostly bipartisan vote of 351-69.The Senate is working on its version of the bill ahead of the Oct. 1 deadline for action. The two chambers will have to reconcile differences or else approve a short-term extension of existing FAA programs by then.The House approval came after a string of votes on contentious issues. Lawmakers voted 243-139 to remove a provision that would have allowed more flight simulator hours to be credited toward the 1,500-hour in-flight requirement to become an airline pilot. Smaller airlines lobbied for the change, saying it would ease a pilot shortage tha...

1 person killed, 3 others wounded in knife attack in South Korea’s capital

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:11:55 GMT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A knife-wielding man stabbed at least four pedestrians on a street in the South Korean capital, Seoul, on Friday, killing one person, police said.They said a man in his 30s with a criminal record that wasn’t specified was arrested. The motivation behind the attack wasn’t immediately clear.Min Moon-ki, an official from Seoul’s Gwanak district police office, said the victim who died was male but didn’t share his personal details. Moon said at least one of the three who were being treated for injuries was in critical condition.The Associated Press

Biden is building his 2024 reelection bid around an organization Obama shunned

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:11:55 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is staking his reelection bid on the political and financial muscle of the Democratic National Committee.As it prepares for a bruising 2024 contest, his campaign plans to raise and spend around $2 billion. But it will do so in coordination with the national and state Democratic parties, in an effort to establish a coordinated campaign around the country. The idea is to bolster field, volunteer and data organizations, and ensure they work jointly to promote Biden and down-ballot Democratic candidates.“The president is really rewriting the playbook when it comes to what a reelection campaign looks like and how we are in deep partnership with the DNC,” said Julie Chavez Rodriguez, Biden’s campaign manager, “and will continue to show, by all metrics, that we’re running a successful campaign.” The strategy is different from the way the last Democratic president treated the DNC. Barack Obama largely shunned the party’s traditional fundraising ap...

German court rejects collector’s complaint against listing in Nazi-era lost art database

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:11:55 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — A German federal court on Friday rejected a collector’s complaint against the inclusion of a painting he bought at auction in a database used to document works which may have been expropriated as a result of Nazi persecution.The plaintiff, who acquired the painting “Calabrian Coast” by German artist Andreas Achenbach at an auction in London in 1999, argued that the entry in the Lost Art Database and the triggering in Canada of an Interpol search for the work impaired his ownership of it.He called for the defendants — the trustees of a Canadian trust that manages the estate of Jewish art dealer Max Stern — to desist from asserting ownership of the painting, or to be ordered to have the entry in the database deleted. The collector, whose identity the Federal Court of Justice didn’t publish, was unsuccessful in lower courts.The federal court ruled that “the announcement of missing cultural property on the Lost Art Database’s web page, if based upon true facts,...

Stock market today: World shares are mixed as investors weigh weakness in the tech sector

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:11:55 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — Shares were mixed Friday in Europe and Asia after the latest rally on Wall Street fizzled, with big declines for Tesla, Netflix and other big tech-oriented stocks.Benchmarks rose in London, Paris and Hong Kong but fell in Frankfurt, Tokyo and Shanghai. U.S. futures edged higher and oil prices also climbed. Big Tech stocks have rallied hard this year, helping drive the big gains for Wall Street’s S&P 500. But technology companies have been forecasting weakness ahead, undermining that key driver of upward momentum. Most tech companies were steady or higher in pre-market trading early Friday. Germany’s DAX lost 0.4% to 16,142.46 and the CAC 40 in Paris gained 0.2% to 7,401.14. In London, the FTSE 100 was up less than 0.1% at 7,650.74. The future for the S&P 500 was 0.2% higher and that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.1%. On Thursday, the S&P 500 fell 0.7%, while the Nasdaq lost 2.1%, its biggest drop in more than four months. The Dow...

Attention turns to Mega Millions after this week's huge Powerball win

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:11:55 GMT

Lottery dreamers are setting their sights on the growing Mega Millions jackpot drawing on Friday after a ticket worth more than $1 billion was sold for the Powerball lottery. Here’s a look at how this drawing compares to other jackpots and why these winnings have become so high.HOW DOES THIS LATEST MEGA MILLIONS JACKPOT STACK UP?The new jackpot for the Mega Millions drawing has reached an estimated $720 million, making it the game's fifth highest. It hasn't yet broken into the top 10 highest lottery jackpots in U.S. history, though.If someone picks all five numbers, plus the gold Mega Ball, they will have the option of taking the prize in yearly increments paid over 29 years or a $369.6 million lump sum before taxes. The last time a Mega Millions player hit the top prize was April 18. The jackpot will continue growing until someone wins.POWERBALL WINNING TICKETMost of the attention had been on Powerball until a winning ticket was drawn this week. Sold at a tiny neighborhoo...

APD takes murder suspect into custody after SWAT callout

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:11:55 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) – An Austin Police SWAT team took a murder suspect into custody late Thursday night in East Austin, Austin police said.According to Austin Police, officers tried to serve a murder warrant at a home on Braes Ridge Drive around 5 p.m. after finding the suspect at the home. Braes Ridge Drive is in the Windsor Park neighborhood near Cameron Road. Officers called SWAT when the suspect refused to come out of the home, APD said. Police said the suspect came out and surrendered to SWAT and was in custody as of 10:45 p.m. According to APD, the suspect was being taken to the Travis County Jail on a charge of first-degree murder. APD did not give out any information about the warrant or the suspect. Police said no one was hurt.

Mohawks and Dutchmen split doubleheader at Keenholts Park

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:11:55 GMT

ALTAMONT, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- Both the Amsterdam Mohawks and Albany Dutchmen emerged from their doubleheader at Keenholts Park with a victory Thursday night. A late surge from the Amsterdam offense secured a game one win for Keith Griffin's bunch, while a brilliant collective pitching performance for Albany in game two snapped an eight-game losing streak against the Mohawks, as the Dutchmen handed them their first shutout loss in two years. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! Game one began as a pitcher's duel. Albany starting pitcher Greg Mays tossed four no-hit innings, while Amsterdam's starting hurler, Maximilian Ramirez, took a no-no into the bottom of the fourth. That's where the Dutchmen bats broke through. After a leadoff double from shortstop Vince Venditti, designated hitter Brody Keneston brought him around with a single to left field for the game's first run.Once Mays was lifted from the ballgame ahead of the fifth fra...