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An explosion in Ecuador is seen as gangs asserting power after inmates take hostages and free some

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:34:52 GMT

QUITO, Ecuador (AP) — Criminal groups in Ecuador used explosives to damage a bridge in Ecuador on Friday, authorities said, demonstrating their grip on a South American country where prison inmates took dozens of law enforcement officers hostage less than two days earlier. Government officials described the violent acts as the response of criminal groups with a significant prison presence to inmate relocations, weapon seizures and other steps authorities took to try to regain control of several large correctional facilities.Four car bombs and three explosive devices went off across the country in less than 48 hours. The latest explosion with dynamite happened early Friday on a bridge linking two cities in the coastal province of El Oro, National Police commander Luis García told The Associated Press.Hours earlier, a domestic gas tank with wads of dynamite attached exploded under a different bridge in Napo province of Napo, located within Ecuador’s portion of the Amazon rainfor...

Bosnian Serbs stage protests in support of their separatist leader

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:34:52 GMT

SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP) — Hundreds of Bosnian Serbs waved flags of Serbia and Russia and banners of Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday as they staged a protest in support of their separatist leader who seeks union with neighboring Serbia. The protests were held at the unmarked internal border in Bosnia that separates the country into two entities — the Bosnian Serb Republika Srpska and the Bosniak-Croat federation — as called for under the U.S.-mediated peace deal that ended the country’s 1992-95 war.The Serb protesters chanted slogans against Bosnia being a single state. They briefly blocked traffic between the two entities, but there were no major incidents reported.“We were always on the side of winners,” said Ljubisa Cosic, a Bosnia Serb official. “We were always on the side of freedom. So our connection to the Russian Federation and Russian people is great.”Bosnian Serb President Milorad Dodik, who has close ties to Putin, has openly been striving to separate ...

Two men wanted in theft of 4-month-old puppy from Rexdale home

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:34:52 GMT

Police are searching for two suspects who stole a puppy during a robbery at a Rexdale home.Investigators were called to a home in the Islington Avenue and Elmhurst Drive area just before 4:30 p.m. on August 31 for reports of a break-and-enter.Police say the two male suspects made off with a 4-month-old beige Micro American Bulldog puppy as well as several pieces of jewelry.The first man was last seen wearing a grey Nike hooded sweater, grey track pants, white shoes, yellow/white gloves and a black face mask.The second man was last seen wearing a black hooded sweater, grey tack pants, black shoes, one white and one black glove and a black face mask.Both were last seen fleeing the area in a black, four-door Hyundai sedan.Photos of two men wanted in connection with the theft of a 4-month old puppy from a Rexdale home on August 31, 2023. TPS/HOPhoto of car used by suspects to flee scene of a break-and-enter in Rexdale on August 31, 2023. TPS/HO

Gasoline prices up from a year ago as drivers head into holiday weekend

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:34:52 GMT

CALGARY — As crude oil prices hit a twelve-month high on Friday, Canadians planning to hit the road for the last long weekend of summer will pay more for gasoline than they did last Labour Day.The national average gasoline price as of Friday was $1.67 cents per litre, according to fuel price tracking website GasBuddy.com. That compares with $1.37 cents per litre on Sept. 1, 2022.Gasoline prices began to rise in July and August of this year, in part due to crude oil production cuts by Saudi Arabia and Russia. Crude oil prices continued their rise this week, due to dwindling crude inventories in the U.S. as well as projections that Saudi Arabia will extend its supply cuts into October.  On Friday, the benchmark crude price West Texas Intermediate hit a 12-month high, trading above US$85 per barrel compared to about US$75 per barrel one year ago.Vijay Muralidharan, energy analyst and managing director with R Cube Consulting Inc., said driving demand through the summer months has been s...

Chicago Football Classic makes its return this weekend

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:34:52 GMT

CHICAGO — After four years, a college football tradition in Chicago that also features many events off the field is ready to return.That happens this weekend, and the celebration was underway on Friday.The Chicago Football Classic will be played this Saturday at Soldier Field as Central State University will face Mississippi Valley State University at 3 p.m. You can watch the game on WGN-TV, Channel 9. Organizers are celebrating the 25 anniversary of the contest that features two Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) as it returns for the first time since 2019. On Friday, organizers of the event along with a number of local politicians gathered for a kickoff celebration at Soldier Field. What the 2023 Chicago Football Classic means to those who created it Started in 1997 by Larry Huggins, Everett Rand and Tim Rand, it's an game that was created to bring more exposure to HBCUs in Chicago. While the showcase event is the football contest, there are numerous events tha...

State of Texas preview: Outside influence ahead of Paxton impeachment trial

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:34:52 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — People are used to tuning in every Sunday morning to hear in-depth analysis on that week’s biggest political news during the “State of Texas” program, and now they have a chance to find out ahead of time what that award-winning coverage will include.KXAN Live anchor Will DuPree will lead a conversation Friday at 4 p.m. with a member of the KXAN politics team to preview the stories that will serve as the focus on that week’s show. The second edition of this live stream will include Capitol correspondent Ryan Chandler. Watch the live stream in this story and on the station's Facebook page. State of Texas preview: New Paxton impeachment documents, SB 14 lawsuit ruling expected During the show, Will and Ryan will discuss the following headlines:The impeachment trial for suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton will begin next week in the Texas Senate. The Republican official is facing 20 articles of impeachment approved by the Texas House of Representatives earlier ...

DKR Stadium adds AI-powered self-checkout concession stands

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:34:52 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Football season is about to kick off once again, and fans will be flooding DKR Stadium to watch the Longhorns play. One thing the stadium has done to prepare for an influx of people is add an AI-powered self-checkout concessions option. Mashgin, the world’s fastest touchless self-checkout system, deployed of 14 self-checkout kiosks by Sodexo, DKR's concessions partner, at the stadium. VIDEO: UT unveils new burnt orange stadium lights The new point-of-sale, touchless self-checkout kiosks have already sped up concession checkouts at six locations across the stadium, according to a release from Mashgin. Sodexo plans to add 22 more of the kiosks for the upcoming 2023 football season.Fans can now buy food, soft drinks, beer and more, check out in 12.5 seconds on average at the kiosks, according to Mashgin. Mashgin kiosks have been deployed at several Texas Athletics venues managed by Sodexo, which include DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium, UFCU Disch-Falk Field, Red and Char...

Queensbury man arrested for DWI, drug charges on I-87

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:34:52 GMT

QUEENSBURY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- A 22-year-old from Queensbury was arrested following a traffic stop on I-87 on August 22. State Police say the driver, Gaven M. Wasson, was driving impaired. Get the latest news, weather, sports and more delivered right to your inbox! Police located multiple felony-weight controlled substances, an illegal quantity of cannabis, and drug paraphernalia inside the vehicle. Wasson was charged with:Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the second-degreeTwo counts of Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the third-degreeCriminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the fourth-degreeCriminally Using Drug ParaphernaliaDriving While Ability Impaired by DrugsUnlawful Possession of CannabisVehicle and Traffic Law violationsWasson was evaluated by a Drug Recognition Expert and a sample was taken to determine the drug content of his blood. He was transferred to the Warren County Correctional Facility to await arraignment.

Detection system installed at Glenridge Road Bridge

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:34:52 GMT

GLENVILLE, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- The New York State Department of Transportation has installed a state-of-the-art vehicle detection system at the Canadian Pacific Railway-owned bridge over Glenridge Road. Although flashing beacons were installed in January 2022, bridge strikes continue to be an issue, as the bridge was struck twice in recent weeks. Get the latest news, weather, sports and more delivered right to your inbox! The new detection system features two sets of infrared sensors, two electronic message boards, and two new flashing beacons for vehicles heading westbound. There is one set of detectors and message boards for vehicles traveling eastbound. Six new permanent cameras have also been installed.An over-height vehicle passing through the infrared beams will trigger nearby beacons to flash floodlights to shine on the bridge. The electronic message boards will warn the driver that the vehicle is too tall to fit under the bridge.Bridge strikes are 100 percent preventable, and...

New research IDs additional Native American boarding schools in Colorado used to assimilate Indigenous children

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:34:52 GMT

Nine Colorado institutions largely financed by the federal government between 1880 and 1920 served as Native American boarding and day schools with the goal of stripping Indigenous children of their culture and assimilating them, according to an executive summary of research conducted by History Colorado released Friday.That’s more than the five institutions in Colorado identified last year in a federal report on Native American boarding schools, which existed across the United States as government-sponsored tools of cultural genocide in an attempt to forcefully assimilate the nation’s Indigenous communities.Seven of the Native American schools were managed by the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs, while the state of Colorado and the Catholic Church each managed a school as well.New research conducted by History Colorado found the following institutions worked toward Indigenous students’ assimilation in Colorado:Ignacio School, 1884-1890. Managed by Bureau of Indian...