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A rocket carrying a lunar landing craft has blasted off on Russia’s first moon mission in nearly 50 years.

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:31:31 GMT

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — A rocket carrying a lunar landing craft has blasted off on Russia’s first moon mission in nearly 50 years.Source

Water back on at large Alexandria apartment building; residents advised to boil water

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:31:31 GMT

The water is back on for residents of an Alexandria, Virginia, community who went nearly three days without after a private water line in the area was damaged.The water outage was in the 5300 block of Duke Street at the London Park Towers apartment complex, which is home to hundreds of residents.A spokesperson for Kay Apartment Communities, which owns the complex, told WTOP that as of Thursday afternoon, residents have been told what they need to do ahead of any water testing in the coming days.“While concluding the annual fire hydrant testing on Tuesday morning by the City of Alexandria Fire Department, a water main at London Park Towers Apartments ruptured in multiple locations. This was an unexpected and unfortunate complication to a test that has been completed annually for many years,” a spokesperson wrote in an email to WTOP.A spokeswoman for Virginia American Water confirmed the restoration, adding that residents will need to boil water used for drinking or prepar...

Samuel Eto’o faces probe for alleged ‘improper conduct’ after complaints by Cameroonian stakeholders

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:31:31 GMT

YAOUNDE, Cameroon (AP) — Cameroon soccer federation president and former star player Samuel Eto’o is being investigated by the Confederation of African Football for alleged “improper conduct.”The former Barcelona and Inter Milan forward was elected to a four-year term in December 2021 but the initial euphoria that greeted his reforms is giving way to accusations of clientelism and unfulfilled financial promises to clubs.The sport’s governing body in Africa said “several Cameroonian football stakeholders” have complained and that it will “investigate certain alleged improper conduct” by Eto’o. CAF described the allegations as “serious” but noted that Eto’o ”is presumed to be innocent until an appropriate judicial body concludes otherwise.”Eto’o’s lawyer, Elame Bonny, said Thursday that his client was surprised at CAF’s move given that he received no prior notification of accusations. Bonny further described CAF’s move as “hasty, pernicious and toxic,” and he t...

Singapore solar company plans major US manufacturing plant in New Mexico, pending federal loan

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:31:31 GMT

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Singapore-based Maxeon Solar Technologies plans to build a major solar panel manufacturing plant in Albuquerque, pending approval of a loan application with the U.S. Department of Energy, the company announced Thursday.The factory would employ about 1,800 people to provide photovoltaic solar panels for use in residential, commercial and utility-scale solar arrays. Maxeon said the plant would be larger than any comparable existing facility in the U.S., equipped to produce panels each year that can generate three gigawatts of electricity. A company representative said that’s enough to equip about 460,000 typical U.S. homes with solar power.About six gigawatts of solar panels were installed nationwide in the first three months of 2023, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association.The proposed solar plant in the southern reaches of Albuquerque would include solar-cell fabrication, panel assembly and warehouse facilities, along with administrative offi...

Hawaii wildfires: Coloradan struggles to reach family on Maui

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:31:31 GMT

THORNTON, Colo. (KDVR) — There were some tense and grueling moments for a man from Thornton who, after devastating wildfires on Maui, was trying to make contact with family on the island.Hours went by and he was hearing nothing. He reached out to FOX31 for help. Blake Butterfield was worried."There’s more fires in. It looked like it was in our backyard," Butterfield said.Butterfield moved from Maui to Colorado in February. Hours went by and he was not able to reach his family as fires tore across the island. Maui Fires: How to find missing, how to help, what you need to know He grew more worried."I've emailed them. I’ve called every outlet that I can. I haven’t been able to get through to anybody,” Butterfield said.The hall of historic Waiola Church in Lahaina and nearby Lahaina Hongwanji Mission are engulfed in flames along Wainee Street on Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii. (Matthew Thayer/The Maui News via AP)How to reach loved ones on Maui after wildfiresThe Red Cross ...

Florida education commissioner skips local forum on criticized Black history standards

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:31:31 GMT

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Hundreds of lawmakers, teachers, school board members and parents crowded into a South Florida church Thursday evening for a forum on Florida’s new standards for teaching Black history, which have drawn harsh criticism for requiring teachers to instruct middle-school students that enslaved people “developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit.”But one person who wasn’t in attendance was Florida Education Commissioner Manny Diaz — the man responsible for overseeing the standards.The former area high school teacher had previously agreed to attend, according to organizers. His participation was advertised on fliers publicizing the event, which was sponsored by Democratic Florida Sen. Shevrin Jones. A chair even was set up on the podium for him with a placard bearing his name.Diaz, a former Florida lawmaker who was appointed commissioner last year by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, said on social med...

Gal Gadot stars as spy engaged in cat-and-mouse chase — with world’s fate at stake — in Netflix’s ‘Heart of Stone’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:31:31 GMT

I am an international superspy — in my head, and definitely on Facebook and Instagram when I’m stalking people — but Gal Gadot is playing the real kind in a new action movie. She has to save the world, and no, it’s not a new “Wonder Woman” sequel.The flick is called “Heart of Stone.” Like my heart: cold, hard and lifeless.This job probably doesn’t come with pizza parties.Jamie Dornan (as Parker): “You know what you signed up for.”Sophie Okonedo (as Nomad): “No friends, no relationships. What we do is too important.”What could be more important than Jamie Dornan? Well, in “Heart of Stone,” turns out, it’s something like world peace.Jamie Dornan (as Parker): “What’s happening?”Matthias Schweighöfer (as Jack of Hearts): “All our systems are offline. We’ve lost the Heart.”International intelligence agent Rachel Stone, played by Gal Gadot, embarks on a dange...

‘Rust’ movie armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed pleads not guilty, trial set for December 6

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:31:31 GMT

(CNN) — “Rust” film armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter and tampering with evidence in relation to the fatal shooting of the movie’s cinematographer, Halyna Hutchins, court documents filed Wednesday and obtained by CNN show.Gutierrez Reed was charged with tampering with evidence in June, in addition to two counts of involuntary manslaughter filed earlier this year.CNN has reached out to Gutierrez Reed’s attorney for comment.The trial is scheduled to start December 6 and last through December 15 with jury selection to occur on December 5, an amended trial scheduling order filed Wednesday says.The trial date being set comes after a New Mexico judge denied a motion to dismiss the involuntary manslaughter charge filed by Jason Bowles, Gutierrez Reed’s attorney, earlier this month.Production on the western, starring Alec Baldwin, came to a halt in 2021 when Hutchins was fatally shot after a prop gun Baldwin was h...

Anxious relatives search for signs that loved ones escaped Maui wildfires. Follow live updates

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:31:31 GMT

By REBECCA BOONE (Associated Press)Follow live updates about wildfires racing across part of Maui in Hawaii, destroying a historic town and forcing evacuations. The National Weather Service says Hurricane Dora, which is passing south of the island chain at a safe distance, was partly to blame for strong winds that initially drove the flames, knocking out power and grounding firefighting helicopters.Palmdale, California, resident Kimberly Buen said she can’t reach her father, Maurice “Shadow” Buen, a 79-year-old retired sport fisherman who can’t see or walk well.Her dad has two friends who drive him to the pharmacy and help read his mail, she said, but neither can get back to Lahaina, the historic town where her father lives that is now reduced to charred vehicles and ash.“He has no way out,” Buen said. “I’ve been checking all the lists, all the social media and following all the people at the shelters. I already called the Red Cross. A...

Maui wildfire death toll climbs to 53 [+gallery]

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:31:31 GMT

The death toll from devastating wildfires in Maui climbed to 53 Thursday, Hawaii Gov. Josh Green said.“We’re talking about the largest natural disaster of this generation in Hawaii,” Green said. “We are heart-sick that there are more than the original 36 who have passed.”He expects the number to increase as crews continue to search for survivors.Green said it looks like there have been more than 1,000 structures destroyed.“Lahaina, with a few rare exceptions, has been burned down,” Green said after walking the town Thursday morning with Maui Mayor Richard Bissen. “Without a doubt, it feel like a bomb was dropped on Lahaina.”Philanthropy experts recommend that people seeking to donate to Maui’s wildfire victims wait to do so.Regine Webster, vice president of the Center for Disaster Philanthropy, says the full scope of need may not be known for up to a week as firefighters finish up their response.She also urged potential donors to support organizations with deep local ties and commun...