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Millions of kids are missing weeks of school as attendance tanks, including in Massachusetts, Connecticut

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:56:12 GMT

SPRINGFIELD — When in-person school resumed after pandemic closures, Rousmery Negrón and her 11-year-old son both noticed a change: School seemed less welcoming.Parents were no longer allowed in the building without appointments, she said, and punishments were more severe. Everyone seemed less tolerant, more angry. Negrón’s son told her he overheard a teacher mocking his learning disabilities, calling him an ugly name.Her son didn’t want to go to school anymore. And she didn’t feel he was safe there.He would end up missing more than five months of sixth grade.Across the country, students have been absent at record rates since schools reopened during the pandemic. More than a quarter of students missed at least 10% of the 2021-22 school year, making them chronically absent, according to the most recent data available. Before the pandemic, only 15% of students missed that much school.All told, an estimated 6.5 million additional students became chronically absent, ac...

Pope sends condolences as death toll rises in Maui wildfires. Follow live updates

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:56:12 GMT

Follow live updates about wildfires that have devastated parts of Maui in Hawaii, destroying a historic town and forcing evacuations. The National Weather Service said Hurricane Dora, which passed south of the island chain, was partly to blame for strong winds that initially drove the flames, knocking out power and grounding firefighting helicopters.Pope sends condolences and golfer raises relief moneyPope Francis sent a telegram of condolences to the people of Hawaii, offering prayers for the victims, the injured and displaced from the wildfires.The note said Francis was saddened to learn of the destruction and “expressed solidarity with all those suffering from this tragedy, especially those whose loved ones have died or are missing.” He also offered prayers for emergency responders who are providing aid to the victims.Professional golfer Collin Morikawa pledged to assist fire relief efforts by donating $1,000 for every birdie he makes during the next three PGA Tour events. Morika...

At least 55 people died on Maui. Residents had little warning before wildfires overtook a town

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:56:12 GMT

LAHAINA, Hawaii (AP) — Maui residents who made desperate escapes from oncoming flames, some on foot, asked why Hawaii’s famous emergency warning system didn’t alert them as wildfires raced toward their homes.Hawaii emergency management records show no indication that warning sirens were triggered before devastating fires killed at least 55 people and wiped out a historic town, officials confirmed Thursday. The blaze is already the state’s deadliest natural disaster since a 1960 tsunami, which killed 61 people on the Big Island. Gov. Josh Green warned the death toll will likely rise as search and rescue operations continue.Hawaii boasts what the state describes as the largest integrated outdoor all-hazard public safety warning system in the world, with about 400 sirens positioned across the island chain to alert people to various natural disasters and other threats. But many of Lahaina’s survivors said in interviews at evacuation centers that they didn’t hear any sirens and only real...

Air Canada profits soar amid high demand and fares, and despite flight delays

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:56:12 GMT

MONTREAL — Air Canada says earnings last quarter reached heights not seen since before the COVID-19 pandemic amid high travel demand and pricier fares, and despite thousands of flight delays.The country’s largest airline posted net income of $838 million in the quarter ended June 30 compared with a loss of $386 million in the same period a year earlier.Air Canada says operating revenues in its second quarter climbed to $5.43 billion from $3.98 billion the year before.On an adjusted basis, the Montreal-based company says diluted earnings hit $1.85 per share versus a loss of $1.12 per share a year prior, towering over analyst expectations of 68 cents per share, according to financial markets data firm Refinitiv.CEO Michael Rousseau says strong demand propelled more than 11 million customers across its network in the quarter, and analysts also noted higher ticket prices behind the thicker profit margins.Rousseau says that despite more staff and revamped technology, Air CanadaR...

An Israeli army raid in the northern West Bank kills a Palestinian militant

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:56:12 GMT

TULKAREM, West Bank (AP) — The Israeli military stormed into a refugee camp in the northern occupied West Bank on Friday, sparking a firefight with Palestinian gunmen and killing a Palestinian man, medics said. The raid into the Tulkarem refugee camp was the latest deadly Israeli military operation into Palestinian cities and towns following a monthslong surge of violence that has escalated regional tensions, highlighted the weaknesses of the Palestinian Authority and helped fuel rising militancy in the restive occupied territory. The Israeli military said that Palestinians hurled explosive devices, fireworks and stones at troops, who fired back. Palestinian gunmen also blocked the roads, opened fire and burned tires in the cramped alleys of the camp, the army said. The Palestinian Red Crescent said that one man was killed and three others were wounded by Israeli fire. The Tulkarem branch of a loosely organized militant group known as the Lion’s Den — which emerged in the northern c...

Jose Bautista to sign one-day contract to retire as a Blue Jay on Friday

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:56:12 GMT

All-star slugger Jose Bautista will sign a one-day contract with the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday and officially announce his retirement from baseball.The signing will take place ahead of Bautista’s name being added to the Level of Excellence at Rogers Centre on Saturday.“There aren’t many names as synonymous with Blue Jays baseball as Jose Bautista, and it is our great honour that he will officially retire in a Blue Jays jersey,” said Mark Shapiro, President & CEO, Toronto Blue Jays, in a statement. “On behalf of a generation of Blue Jays fans that had the privilege of watching his clutch moments on the field and inspiring work ethic — thank you, Jose, for a mesmerizing decade representing the Toronto Blue Jays.”Bautista spent 10 seasons in Toronto, reigniting the fanbase by leading the Blue Jays to back-to-back American League Championship Series in 2015 and ’16. Bautista was a six-time all-star and three-time Silver Slugger while a member of the Blue Jays.Bautista ...

Judge Chutkan will hear arguments in protective order fight in Trump’s 2020 election conspiracy case

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:56:12 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The federal judge overseeing the 2020 election conspiracy case against Donald Trump will hear arguments Friday over a request by prosecutors for a protective order seeking to bar the former president from publicly disclosing evidence shared by the government.The protective order sought by special counsel Jack Smith’s team has become an early flashpoint in the case accusing the Republican of illegally scheming to subvert the will of voters and cling to power after he lost to Democrat Joe Biden. Protective orders aren’t unusual in criminal cases, and they’re different from “gag orders” that bar parties from talking publicly about an ongoing case outside the courtroom. But lawyers for Trump — who has railed against prosecutors and U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan on social media and during campaign events — say the proposed protective order goes too far and would restrict Trump’s free speech rights. In seeking the protective order, prosecutors...

Thousands are evacuated after a builder uncovers a WWII bomb in a Polish town

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:56:12 GMT

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Some 14,000 people were evacuated Friday in the eastern Polish town of Lublin after a construction worker uncovered a massive unexploded bomb. The police, Territorial Defense troops and city transport were helping in the evacuation, which must take place before military engineers can take the bomb away for neutralization, according to town hall spokesperson Katarzyna Duma. Roads in the area have been closed.Duma told The Associated Press that the residents were being taken to safety at the Lublin Arena, care centers and a high school that was empty for summer vacation. Residents have been instructed to turn off gas, water and electricity in their homes, close the windows and doors and take their IDs and necessary medication with them. They should be able to return home in the early afternoon. Builders uncovered the 250-kilogram (550-pound) bomb buried in the ground Thursday while working on a new residential area. The site held a Polish airplane factory and an ...

EPA weighs formal review of vinyl chloride, the toxic chemical that burned in Ohio train derailment

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:56:12 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration says it could soon launch a formal evaluation of risks posed by vinyl chloride, the cancer-causing chemical that burned in a towering plume of toxic black smoke following the fiery train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.The Environmental Protection Agency is set to review risks posed by a handful of chemicals later this year, and is considering chemicals used for plastic production as a key benchmark. Vinyl chloride is among a range of chemicals eligible for review, and “EPA could begin a risk evaluation on vinyl chloride in the near future,” the agency said in a statement to The Associated Press.If selected, EPA would study vinyl chloride to determine whether it poses an “unreasonable risk to human health or the environment,” a process that would take at least three years.Environmental and public health activists cheered the development, saying EPA should have banned vinyl chloride years ago.“If one positive thing can c...

Weekend need to know: Return of Taste of the Danforth, Jays vs. Cubs, National Bank Open

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:56:12 GMT

The Taste of the Danforth finally returns to Greektown this weekend after a years-long hiatus due to logistic and pandemic-related issues.The Toronto Blue Jays are playing the Chicago Cubs at Rogers Centre all weekend, which is where José Bautista is being added the Blue Jays’ Level of Excellence.Plus, Canada’s long-standing premier tennis event continues at Sobeys Stadium and on Sportsnet.There are no scheduled subway closures this weekend, but ongoing road closures remain. Scroll below for more details.Here’s what to do this weekend:Top eventsTaste of the Danforth The Taste of the Danforth, one of Toronto’s most beloved street festivals, is back this weekend for the first time since before the COVID-19 pandemic.Last year’s festival was cancelled with the GreekTown on the Danforth BIA at the time, citing streetscape challenges, and adapting to CaféTO patio installations and bike lanes.The festival will have lots of Greek food, local vendors, and performances from Friday to Su...