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Boat incidents in Volusia County raise safety concerns

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:45 GMT

VOLUSIA, COUNTY, FlA. (WSVN) – A boat fell apart on the water in a Volusia County beach leaving three people stranded and that’s not the only water rescue that has happened in the same area.The view from a Volusia County chopper showed an out-rigger canoe broken into two pieces in the ocean.Officials said the people on board were jumping into the water when the canoe fell apart.Lifeguards on jet skis and paddle boards were able to rescue and bring all 11 passengers to safety.All of them wore life jackets and none were badly injured but people at the beach are not surprised this happened. “The waves are a little choppy. I could see it happening if you don’t know what you’re doing,” said beachgoer Richard Porras.In another incident, bodycam video showed deputies heading out onto the jetty at Ponce Inlet.Thermal video from a helicopter shows three boaters stuck on the rocks after their boat capsized.One of them even had to climb through the rocks to...

Retired flight attendant’s annual ‘Paulie’s Push’ walk honors 9/11 lives lost

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:45 GMT

NEWARK LIBERTY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, N.J. (WSVN) — A retired flight attendant is embarking on a special mission to honor the lives lost on 9/11. Paul Veneto started his journey on Monday for his annual “Paulie’s Push” tribute walk. The commemorative journey follows different paths each year that symbolize the flight path each plane took before it crashed on 9/11. Veneto pushes a beverage cart with every walk he does. In 2021, the year the walk started, he walked to the 9/11 National Memorial from the Boston-Logan International Airport. In 2022, he walked from Washington Dulles International Airport to the Pentagon. This year, Venato will walk from Newark Liberty International Airport to northwestern Pennsylvania; this would symbolize the path of Flight 93 before it crashed. Each walk was completed on Sept. 11 in the years prior. Venato plans to do the same in 2023 as he walks 300 miles to the Flight 93 National Memorial.Venato’s journey has gained publ...

‘People really enjoy my food’: 11-year-old chef draws in dozens of customers

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:45 GMT

MILWAUKEE, Wisconsin (WTMJ) — In her family’s kitchen Saturday, Raquelle Boyd professionally known as Chef Kisses moved with confidence well beyond her years as she prepared the feast she began working on since 6 that morning.After the success of her first pop-up drive-thru, which drew in a few dozen customers—some even waited 2 hours to try her food, the 11-year-old was ready for round two.“It made me feel happy and that people really enjoy my food,” she said.On Saturday she spent hours whipping up quite the menu, with very little help, cooking fried chicken, collard greens, mac n cheese, cornbread and more.When Raquelle first came to her parents with the idea, mom Sarhena Boyd said her first instinct was to encourage her passion like they had done pretty much all her life, from her play kitchen set to her first deep fryer at 5 years old.“She’s been talking about Chef Kisses’ Place for a very long time,” Sarhena said. “So when she came up with this idea it was like hey why no...

Former Finnish PM Alexander Stubb to run for president

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:45 GMT

Alexander Stubb, the former prime minister of Finland, on Tuesday said he would stand in next year’s presidential elections. Finland’s Prime Minister Petteri Orpo made the announcement on Monday afternoon following the conclusion of a party leadership meeting.“He is clearly the strongest of our very good candidates, and we are prepared to work hard for him,” Orpo told Finnish public broadcaster Yle. Now that he has accepted the party’s nomination, Stubb will enter the race against current favourite and ex-foreign minister Pekka Haavisto (Green), Bank of Finland governor Olli Rehn, former Finns Party leader Jussi Halla-aho, and foreign policy expert Mika Aaltola, among others.The first round of Finland’s presidential election is due on January 28 next year. A run-off between top two contenders will be held on February 11 if none of the candidates wins more than 50 percent of votes.Stubb is a well-known figure in Brussels, where he served ...

Russia lifts rates to 12 percent to boost ruble

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:45 GMT

The Central Bank of Russia ratcheted up its key interest rates by a hefty 3.5 percentage points to 12 percent on Tuesday as it moved to bolster a crumbling ruble.The panicked response, during an emergency meeting of the bank, came after the ruble weakened beyond a critical psychological level of 100 to the dollar on Monday, hitting 102.25 and a 16-month low. The combination of a weak currency and a diminishing current account surplus, which measures the difference between what a country imports and exports, are now contributing to inflation in the Russian economy. The deterioration is the result of both weaker commodity prices and Russian commodity exports being curtailed by sanctions. This comes despite Russian crude, known as Urals grade, trading above the internationally agreed price cap of $60 since mid July.The worsening inflation outlook is, however, likely to be met with swift and assertive action from the CBR. The central bank’s governor, ...

UK police forces accidentally shared victims’ details in data breach

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:45 GMT

LONDON — The details of hundreds of crime victims, suspects and witnesses were accidentally shared by two police forces in their responses to freedom of information (FOI) requests.Norfolk and Suffolk police said on Tuesday a “technical issue” meant the raw data, which could be used to identify individuals and included descriptions of offenses, was included in files provided in response to requests for crime statistics between April 2021 and March 2022.The information related to domestic abuse, sexual offenses, assaults, thefts and hate crime.The data was hidden from anyone who opened the files, but the forces are now contacting the 1,230 people whose data was breached, they said. The U.K. data watchdog, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), has also been notified.The ICO confirmed it is investigating the breach, as well as a separate incident in November 2022, but said it is not yet able to determine the impact.The disclosure comes a week after the Police Service of Nor...

A charity says it will help search for mementos that survived Maui fires. Follow live updates

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:45 GMT

By JENNIFER SINCO KELLEHER (Associated Press)Follow live updates about wildfires that have devastated parts of Maui in Hawaii, killing dozens of people and destroying the historic town of Lahaina. The wildfires are the deadliest in the U.S. in more than a century. The cause was under investigation. Even where the fires have retreated, authorities have warned that toxic byproducts may remain, including in drinking water, after the flames spewed poisonous fumes.Samaritan’s Purse, a Christian humanitarian aid organization, airlifted 17 tons (15.4 metric tonnes) of emergency relief equipment, tools, and some volunteers Tuesday to help after the deadly wildfires on Maui.Volunteers with the North Carolina-based ministry plan to help search for mementos and other items that might have survived the fires, the group said in a news release.Its disaster-response specialists have been in Hawaii since Thursday, conducting assessments and coordinating with local authorities and church partn...

Bedzone bash! Patriots, Bob’s Furniture pitch in for families

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:45 GMT

Retail sales rose solidly last month in a sign that consumers are still spending freely

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:45 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Americans increased their purchases at retailers last month – for clothing, dining out, online goods and other areas – in a sign that solid consumer spending is still powering a resilient U.S. economy.Retail sales rose a better-than-expected 0.7% in July from June, according to the Commerce Department’s report Tuesday. The gain followed a revised 0.3% gain the previous month, the government said.Analysts noted that spending on Amazon Prime Day, the online juggernaut’s big two-day sales event that took place earlier last month, also helped boost online sales.Excluding autos and gas, sales rose a solid 1%. A closely watched category of retail sales that excludes auto dealers, gas stations and building materials and feeds into the gross domestic product jumped 1% last month compared to the prior month, the biggest move in six months, analysts said.“Maybe it’s a one-off, but Americans put aside their penny-pinching ways and spent big on food and fun in July,&...

Widespread blackout leaves parts of Brazil without electricity

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:45 GMT

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — A blackout left large parts of Brazil’s north and northeast regions without any electricity Tuesday, and power disruptions were detected in the rest of the country, the National System Operator said.At least 19 of Brazil’s states were affected, according to a tally by online news site G1.The outage affected public transportation. Passengers had to evacuate subway lines in major cities, including Sao Paulo, Belo Horizonte and Salvador. Traffic lights were out in other cities. The blackout happened at 8:31 a.m. local time, government authorities said. Power was restored in some parts of the country by 10:00 a.m., the National System Operator said in a statement, but many areas remained without electricity.The cause of the blackout was under investigation.The Associated Press