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Tropical disturbance hits western Caribbean, unleashing floods and landslides in Jamaica

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 19:59:12 GMT

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — A potential tropical cyclone moved across the western Caribbean on Friday, knocking out power to thousands in Jamaica as it unleashed landslides and floods, authorities said.The disturbance was located about 50 miles (85 kilometers) southwest of Montego Bay, Jamaica with top winds of 35 mph (55 mph). It was moving northeast at 16 mph (26 kph), according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami.Some 14,000 customers were without power in Jamaica after heavy rains downed trees, severed power lines and caused landslides, according to the Jamaica Public Service Company.At least 24 people were rescued from floodwaters in the island’s southeastern region, according to the Jamaican Defense Force.A tropical storm watch was in effect for Jamaica, Haiti, the Cuban provinces of Guantanamo, Santiago de Cuba, Holguin, Granma and Las Tunas, the southeastern Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands.The disturbance was expected to move across southeast Cuba by early Sa...

Snoop Dogg says he’s giving up ‘smoke.’ It caught some of his fans off guard

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 19:59:12 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Asking for privacy, hip-hop legend and longtime marijuana enthusiast Snoop Dogg says he’s going to stop smoking — though he didn’t specify exactly what that might mean.“After much consideration and conversation with my family, I’ve decided to give up smoke,” Snoop wrote in a message shared on Instagram and X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, on Thursday. “Please respect my privacy at this time.”The rapper and entrepreneur, who has become known for his own weed-related ventures over the years, provided no additional details in his brief announcement, which came the week after a new marijuana-adjacent product was introduced bearing his name. Representatives for the 52-year-old Snoop, born Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr., did not immediately respond to The Associated Press’ requests for comment Friday.That didn’t stop ample speculation from fans, many of whom filled the comments of Snoop’s post after being caught off gu...

Joe Burrow is out for the rest of the season with a torn ligament in his throwing wrist, Bengals say

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 19:59:12 GMT

CINCINNATI (AP) — Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow will be out the rest of the season due to a torn ligament in his right wrist, the team announced Friday.Coach Zac Taylor said the injury would require surgery. Burrow left the Bengals game in the second quarter of a 34-20 loss to the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday night.When Burrow tried practice throws on the sideline, the ball slipped out of his hand as the quarterback winced. Burrow then went to the locker room and looked frustrated.This is the second time in Burrow’s four-year NFL career he has suffered a season-ending injury in Week 11. He tore the ACL and MCL in his left knee during a game against Washington in 2020.Burrow was 11 of 17 for 101 yards and a touchdown when he left. Backup Jake Browning replaced him and will likely be the starter for the rest of the season.Cincinnati is 5-5 after two-straight losses. The NFL will investigate why Cincinnati did not list Burrow on the team’s injury report, a person familiar w...

Amazon lays off hundreds in its Alexa division as it plows resources into AI

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 19:59:12 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Amazon is cutting hundreds of jobs in the unit that handles its popular voice assistant Alexa as it plows more resources into artificial intelligence. In a note to employees on Friday, Daniel Rausch, Amazon’s vice president of Alexa and Fire TV, wrote that the company is eliminating certain roles because it is ditching some initiatives. “As we continue to invent, we’re shifting some of our efforts to better align with our business priorities, and what we know matters most to customers — which includes maximizing our resources and efforts focused on generative AI,” Rausch wrote. He said “several hundred” positions would be cut but did not give a more precise figure.Seattle-based Amazon is in fierce competition with other tech companies rushing to capitalize on the generative AI craze. The company has been implementing a host of AI initiatives in the past few months, from infusing the technology into customer reviews to providing services that allow developers to build...

High-ranking Mormon church leader Russell Ballard remembered as examplar of the faith

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 19:59:12 GMT

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Associates and children of one of the highest-ranking leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, M. Russell Ballard, remembered him Friday as a principled and compassionate man who stood as an exemplar of the faith for decades.Ballard, who was second-in-line to become church president as the second-longest-tenured member of a top governing body called the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, died Sunday surrounded by family at his home. He was 95.“The centerpiece of the church’s missionary effort has always been the doctrine of Jesus Christ and the restoration of the Lord’s church. No one has taught this more powerfully or thoroughly than President Ballard over the last 50 years,” quorum member Quentin L. Cook said at Ballard’s funeral. “He has been a strong leader and has left the quorum in a great place.”Ballard was acting president of the quorum for the past five years and a quorum member for 38 years. The leadership body sits below th...

The Moscow Times, noted for its English coverage of Russia, is declared a ‘foreign agent’

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 19:59:12 GMT

Russia’s Justice Ministry on Friday added The Moscow Times, an online newspaper popular among Russia’s expatriate community, to its list of “foreign agents” in the country’s continuing crackdown on critical news media and opposition.The “foreign agent” designation subjects individuals and organizations to increased financial scrutiny and requires any of their public material to prominently include notice of being declared a foreign agent. The label is seen as a pejorative aimed at undermining the designees’ credibility.It was not immediately clear how the move would affect The Moscow Times, which moved its editorial operations out of Russia in 2022 after the passage of a law imposing stiff penalties for material regarded as discrediting the Russian military and its war in Ukraine. The Moscow Times publishes in English and in Russian, but its Russian-language site was blocked in Russia several months after the Ukraine war began. The publication began in 1992 a...

US, partners condemn growing violence in Sudan’s Darfur region

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 19:59:12 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States, Britain and Norway on Friday condemned rising violence and human rights abuses that some claim amount to ethnic cleansing in Sudan’s western Darfur region. The three countries, known as “the Troika,” said in a statement that the Sudanese Armed Forces and Rapid Support Forces must end the fighting that has killed at least 800 people since earlier this month and forced another 8,000 to flee. They said they were particularly concerned by attacks on civilians by the RSF in west, central and south Darfur. The three countries said there could be no military solution to the conflict and urged the two sides to work together in Saudi-hosted peace talks to reach a negotiated settlement.“We reiterate that there is no acceptable military solution to the conflict, and call for an end to the fighting,” they said. “We urge the RSF and SAF to refrain from actions that would further divide Sudan along ethnic lines or draw other forces into their conflict. Both si...

Bobby Ussery, Hall of Fame jockey whose horse was DQ’d in 1968 Kentucky Derby, dies at 88

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 19:59:12 GMT

Bobby Ussery, a Hall of Fame jockey who won the 1967 Kentucky Derby and then crossed the finish line first in the 1968 edition only to be disqualified days later, has died. He was 88.Ussery died Thursday of congestive heart failure at an assisted living facility in Hollywood, Florida, his son Robert told The Associated Press on Friday.The elder Ussery won his first race at the Fair Grounds in New Orleans on Nov. 22, 1951, and went on to major wins in the Travers, Whitney and Alabama at Saratoga by the end of the decade.He retired in 1974 with 3,611 career victories and he was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 1980.Ussery won the 1967 Derby aboard 30-1 longshot Proud Clarion. He picked up the mount after his original Derby horse, Reflected Glory, couldn’t make the race because of sore shins.Ussery and Dancer’s Image crossed the finish line first in the 1968 Derby only to become the first horse ever disqualified days later as the result of a positive drug...

Escaped murderer back in court over crimes authorities say he committed while on the run

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 19:59:12 GMT

A convicted murderer who escaped from a southeastern Pennsylvania prison earlier this year and eluded a massive two-week search before he was recaptured was arraigned Friday on theft, burglary and other charges in connection with alleged crimes committed while he was on the run.Danilo Cavalcante, 34, did not say much during the brief hearing where he appeared via video conference. Authorities have said that following his Aug. 31 escape from Chester County Prison, he stole a transit van and burglarized homes in southeastern Pennsylvania, where a rifle and ammunition, clothing, a sleeping bag and other items were stolen.During the hearing, prosecutors consolidated the new charges with the initial escape charge Cavalcante faced after he was captured. A preliminary hearing will be held where more information regarding both sets of charges will be discussed, but a date for that hearing has not been scheduled.Cavalcante was charged Monday with felony counts of burglary, criminal trespass,...

EverWind gets push in Canadian hydrogen race with $125-million loan from Ottawa

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 19:59:12 GMT

PORT HAWKESBURY, N.S. — The federal government is backing a massive wind-powered hydrogen project in Nova Scotia with a $125-million loan.Sean Fraser, federal minister of housing, infrastructure and communities, was in Port Hawkesbury, N.S., today to announce that Ottawa had reached an agreement in principle for financing with EverWind Fuels, the company behind the project.EverWind is angling to build wind-powered hydrogen and ammonia plants in southern Cape Breton and export the fuel to European markets.The company hopes it will be the first green hydrogen and ammonia facility in the country and aims to be producing more than 200,000 tonnes of green ammonia each year, beginning in 2025.Fraser, who is from Nova Scotia, told reporters the project will bring much-needed jobs to a rural part of the province and help Canada establish itself as a trusted supplier of green energy to international markets.Trent Vichie, EverWind’s chief executive, says he wants Atlantic Canada to be a...