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South Korean zoo celebrates birth of first twin pandas

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:41:41 GMT

(CNN) — A giant panda at a South Korean zoo has given birth to the country’s first twin cubs.The palm-sized female pandas were born at the Everland Resort theme park southeast of the capital Seoul on July 7, the zoo said in a statement Tuesday.Video posted to YouTube showed their mother Ai Bao picking up the first cub, weighing 180 grams (6 ounces), with her mouth, then delivering the second cub, weighing 140 grams, an hour later.The twins’ birth is considered rare – there’s less than a 50% chance of pandas giving birth to twins – and in the wild, they struggle to survive as mothers can often only care for one of their cubs.Both the mother and her offspring are in good health, the zoo said in a statement, with staff providing postpartum care based on their experience helping the now 9-year-old deliver her first cub, Fu Bao, three years ago.“I am very happy that twin baby pandas were born for the first time in Korea,” said Kang Cheol-won, a zookeeper responsible for setting...

Famed ESPN analyst Dick Vitale diagnosed with vocal cord cancer

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:41:41 GMT

(CNN) — ESPN analyst Dick Vitale says he has been diagnosed with vocal cord cancer.“I’m sorry to share that I received tough news today from Dr. ( Steven) Zeitels about my throat,” Vitale wrote on Twitter. “The tests on the tissues they removed showed that I have vocal cord cancer and will need six weeks of radiation to treat it. Dr. Z tells me that it has an extremely high cure rate, and that radiation, not surgery is the best path.“I plan to fight like hell to be ready to call games when the college hoops season tips off in the Fall. Dr. Z feels that scenario is entirely possible. I want to say that I have been so touched by the tweets, texts, notes, and prayers, and will ask all of you to continue to send positive vibes.”Vitale, one of the most recognizable voices in US sports announcing known for his bombastic style and love of the game, has previously had lengthy battles with lymphoma and melanoma.He announced in 2021 that he had lymphoma having already had ...

Boston Police respond to Mattapan shooting, victim has ‘life-threatening injuries’

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:41:41 GMT

A shooting victim was transported to the hospital with “life-threatening injuries” after a report of shots fired in Mattapan Thursday afternoon, according to police.Boston Police responded to the area of 35 Fessenden St., in Mattapan for a reported shooting at around 2:05 p.m.The person who was shot was transported to the hospital with “life-threatening injuries,” a Boston Police spokesperson said.The age of the victim was not immediately reported by police.The BPD spokesperson added, “It’s a very active investigation.”Related ArticlesCrime & Public Safety | Boston Police make arrest tied to Mattapan mass shooting, recover loaded gun Crime & Public Safety | Crime Briefs: Girl, 13, shot in Dorchester, Boston Police Department says Developing…

LeBron James says he’s not retiring after openly pondering his NBA future

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:41:41 GMT

LeBron James isn’t calling it quits just yet.The Lakers star plans to return for a 21st NBA season after openly pondering his future, he confirmed during an acceptance speech at the 2023 ESPY Awards.“I don’t care how many more points I score or what I can and cannot do on the floor,” James said Wednesday night. “The real question for me is can I play without cheating this game? The day I can’t give the game everything on the floor is the day I’ll be done. Lucky for you guys, the day is not today.”The announcement earned a big cheer from the crowd at Los Angeles’ Dolby Theatre, where James was awarded with Best Record-Breaking Performance for becoming the NBA’s all-time leading scorer.James, 38, has spoken about his desire to play with his 18-year-old son, Bronny James, an incoming USC freshman who is draft-eligible next year.But James, a four-time NBA Finals winner, was noncommittal about his return after the Lakers were sw...

As All-Star break nears end without new Camden Yards lease, Orioles and Gov. Moore say they’re ‘determined to make it happen’ before year-end expiration

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:41:41 GMT

Both baseball season and the calendar year have passed their respective midpoints. The Orioles remain without a long-term lease to keep them at Camden Yards.In February, Orioles CEO and Chairman John Angelos said he would “love to have [a new lease] as an All-Star break gift for everybody, really, in the community.” The All-Star break ends Friday, when the Orioles begin the second half of their season against the Miami Marlins, but no new deal has been struck between the team and the Maryland Stadium Authority, which serves as its landlord at Oriole Park.In a joint statement Thursday from Democrat Gov. Wes Moore and the Orioles, the two sides did not provide particulars on lease negotiations, but said progress is being made on their “vision to expand and revitalize the Camden Yards campus.”“We are determined to make it happen, and soon,” the statement said.Earlier in the week, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said his “view of the future of the ...

Andrew Tate sues his accusers in human trafficking case

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:41:41 GMT

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Controversial social media personality Andrew Tate and his brother are suing a Florida woman, saying she falsely accused them of imprisoning her in Romania, leading to their arrest there on human trafficking charges.The widely followed former professional kickboxer and his brother, Tristan, are seeking at least $5 million in the lawsuit, which was filed in Palm Beach County against the woman, her parents, another woman who lived at the Tates’ Bucharest estate and a male friend of the woman. The Tates say the five conspired to falsely accuse them of human trafficking and rape, costing them their freedom and millions of dollars in income from their lucrative social media, podcasting and business ventures. The lawsuit says the woman and her parents are residents of Palm Beach County, which is why it was filed there on Tuesday. Romanian officials arrested the Tates in December and indicted them last month, saying the brothers forced seven victims into ...

Top vote-getter in Guatemala’s presidential election suspends campaign in solidarity with opponent

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:41:41 GMT

GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — The top vote-getter in the first round of Guatemala’s presidential election said Thursday she is suspending her campaign activities in solidarity with her opponent, whose party is being pursued by prosecutors.Sandra Torres said in a news conference that the current playing field between herself and Seed Party candidate Bernardo Arévalo is uneven. “We want to demonstrate our solidarity with the voters of the Seed party and also with those who came out to vote,” Torres said. “As a candidate I want to compete under equal conditions.”Torres’ announcement came the same day that the country’s top prosecutors raided the headquarters of the electoral authority just hours after it certified the June 25 results of the first round of the presidential election.The move by the Attorney General’s Office appeared aimed at stopping Arévalo, whose campaign platform is eliminating corruption, and it immediately sparked objections from within and outside Guatema...

Biden administration suspends satellite monitoring of Colombian coca crops amid surge in cocaine

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:41:41 GMT

MIAMI (AP) — The Biden administration has quietly ditched a key gauge used for decades to measure success in the war on drugs, suspending satellite monitoring of coca crops in Colombia amid a surge of cocaine production in South America. A State Department spokesperson said the move was “temporary” but gave no timeframe for data collection to resume or explain why it was suspended in the first place. It was also unclear whether satellite surveys would continue in Peru and Bolivia, which together account for about half of coca production in the Andean region.The move, first reported by Colombia’s El Tiempo newspaper, has drawn outrage from Republicans in Congress from Florida, who have been threatening to decertify Colombia’s government for failing to cooperate in U.S. anti-narcotics efforts. But it tracks with leftist Colombian President Gustavo Petro’s efforts to refocus law enforcement efforts away from the rural backwaters where coca is grown to instead chase large-sc...

B.C. drought update highlights low stream flows, vast areas of drought

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:41:41 GMT

VANCOUVER — A report on drought conditions from British Columbia’s River Forecast Centre says the combination of record heat in May followed by early snow melt and persistently low levels of precipitation has parched much of the province.The report by hydrologist Jonathan Boyd says most of B.C. has received rainfall over the past year between 40 per cent and 85 per cent of annual average precipitation.It says stream flows measured this week at some rivers on Vancouver Island and in northwestern B.C. are at the highest drought-level category, Level 5, while other major rivers in the Interior and Kootenays are getting close.Emergency Management and Climate Readiness Minister Bowinn Ma highlighted the findings in a drought status update today.Earlier this week, she urged B.C. residents to take measures to conserve water, including watering lawns sparingly, taking shorter showers and only doing laundry with a full load.Premier David Eby and Ma have both said the situation is serio...

Labor rift deepens between Republican governor and dockworkers in South Carolina

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:41:41 GMT

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Dockworkers and the governor in the state with the lowest percentage of unionized workers are digging in their heels over a labor dispute that has left the newest container terminal at the East Coast’s deepest harbor largely inactive.Pending before a federal appeals court is a National Labor Relations Board decision that upheld unionized dockworkers’ right to exclusively staff the cranes at Hugh K. Leatherman Terminal in Charleston, South Carolina, under a 2012 master contract.The alternative is a so-called hybrid model implemented by other South Carolina terminals backed by Republican Gov. Henry McMaster where loading operations would be fulfilled by employees from both the state and the International Longshoremen’s Association Local 1422.But union organizers find much more at stake than the availability of higher-paying jobs and the resumed operations of the project’s recently completed $1 billion first phase. They fear a reversal could set ...