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Manhattan parking garage that collapsed, killing 1, had open property violations, records show

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:51:05 GMT

CNN) — A parking garage that collapsed Tuesday in lower Manhattan, killing one person and injuring five others, had six open building violations, three of which were classified as “hazardous,” New York City Department of Buildings records show.The garage, on Ann Street in the Financial District, was a four-story building that “pancaked … all the way to the cellar floor,” Department of Buildings acting Commissioner Kazimir Vilenchik said.The cause is under investigation, but officials have said they believe it was a “structural collapse.”The Manhattan district attorney’s office is investigating the collapse, it said Wednesday. The office said in a statement it “cannot confirm details of an ongoing investigation.”The fire department used a robotic dog and drones to search the building for people because it was “completely unstable,” New York Mayor Eric Adams said at a news conference. Everyone was believed t...

Even at 1-1, Heat left feeling at a loss against Bucks, ‘we’ve got to lick our wounds’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:51:05 GMT

The opportunity was there to offer a tried-and-true trope. But the Miami Heat also knew better after trailing by as many as 36 points Wednesday night.Yes, they went into Milwaukee and stole away into one of the two nights with a road victory to claim homecourt advantage in this best-of-seven opening-round Eastern Conference playoff series against the Bucks.To his credit, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra attempted as much.“All things said, this feels horrible, having a game like this,” he said. “But we got one and we’re going to figure out how to get another one.”His players, stung by the thoroughness of the trashing, first needed time to digest what transpired in Wednesday night’s 138-122 loss at Fiserv Forum.“I mean,” guard Duncan Robinson said, “we’ve got to lick our wounds on this one first, for sure. Obviously getting one here is good, but just the sense of urgency [Wednesday] definitely wasn’t where we wanted it to be.&...

Dunkin' is pouring free brews on National Cold Brew Day

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:51:05 GMT

SAN DIEGO, Calif. -- Dunkin' is celebrating National Cold Brew Day Thursday by pouring free drinks for customers.For one day only on April 20, rewards members can snag a free cold brew with any purchase through the Dunkin’ mobile app. Not a member? There's still time to sign up to score this icy deal. Iconic donut shop to open first location in San Diego The on-the-go beverage and donut brand says it steeps 100% Arabica beans in cold water for 12 hours to slowly extract the coffee flavor. Dunkin' described their cold brew as "an ultra-smooth, full bodied cold coffee with a sweeter, rich chocolatey taste."Adding cold foam, a flavor shot or a flavor swirl? Do you prefer a certain type of milk? Dunkin' has you covered. Customizations are allowed with this exclusive offer. Looking to try something new? Dunkin's menu has a Caramel Chocolate Cold Brew, which is described as having "flavor notes of caramel and rich milk chocolate." This specialty drink is also topped with chocolate cold ...

SpaceX launches giant new rocket on 1st test flight

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:51:05 GMT

SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, Texas (AP) — SpaceX’s new rocket, the biggest and most powerful ever built, blasted off Thursday on its first test flight, thundering into the South Texas sky in an attempt to orbit the world.Elon Musk’s company launched the nearly 400-foot (120-meter) Starship rocket from the southern tip of Texas, near the Mexican border. The plan called for the booster to peel away and plummet into the Gulf of Mexico shortly after liftoff, with the spacecraft hurtling ever higher toward the east in a bid to circle the world, before crashing into the Pacific near Hawaii.No people or satellites were aboard for this debut launch.Throngs of spectators watched from several miles away from the Boca Chica Beach launch site, which was off-limits.The company plans to use Starship to send people and cargo to the moon and, eventually, Mars. NASA has reserved a Starship for its next moonwalking team, and rich tourists are already booking lunar flybys.It was the second launch attempt. Mond...

Extremists kill 20, abduct others in attack on Congo village

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:51:05 GMT

KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — At least 20 people have been killed and others abducted by extremists in eastern Congo’s North Kivu province, a civil society group said Thursday. The Allied Democratic Forces — believed to be linked with the Islamic State group — attacked civilians in Samboko village in Beni territory on Wednesday, Mamove civil society organization president Kinos Katuho told The Associated Press. Congo’s army deployed to the area and freed two of the hostages after a battle with the rebels, he said.Conflict has been simmering for decades in eastern Congo where more than 120 armed groups are fighting, most for land and control of mines with valuable minerals, while others are trying to protect their communities. Since April last year, ADF attacks have killed at least 370 civilians and abducted hundreds, including several children, according to the United Nations. The group, which originally operated in North Kivu province, has spread to neighboring Ituri, where mo...

Boy, 12, charged in string of sexual assaults on Toronto walking trails

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:51:05 GMT

A young boy is in police custody following a string of sexual assaults last summer on walking trails in Toronto’s east end.The first incident was reported on July 7, 2022 when a woman was running on Gatineau Hydro Corridor Trail near Birchmount Road in Scarborough. It’s alleged the suspect blocked the woman with his bike and then sexually assaulted her.A day later, a woman was riding a bicycle in the same area when she was followed by a boy who asked to show her an “11 fingers TikTok trick” before he allegedly sexually assaulted her.On July 22, it’s alleged a 54-year-old woman was walking along the East Don Valley Trail when a suspect approached her and asked for water. Police say he then sexually assault her before getting on his bike and fleeing the area.The next day, police allege a 52-year-old woman was walking along the East Don River Trail when a boy on a bike came up behind her and sexually assaulted her.Police received two more reports of simila...

Key shareholder Sumitomo to vote in favour of Teck plan to split business

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:51:05 GMT

VANCOUVER — Sumitomo Metal Mining Co. Ltd., a key shareholder at Teck Resources Ltd., says it will vote in favour of the company’s plan to separate its metals and steelmaking coal operations into two companies.The Japanese company says in a statement that it has built a trusted partnership with Teck in the mining business.Swiss company Glencore has proposed a takeover offer for Teck that would see shareholders receive a stake in a combined metals company as well as a choice of cash or shares in a company that would hold their merged coal assets.  However, Glencore has said Teck shareholders must first reject the company’s plan to split its business into Teck Metals and Elk Valley Resources.Teck, which has rejected the Glencore proposal, is controlled by the Keevil family, which owns the company’s multi-voting class A shares together with Sumitomo. Sumitomo holds 18.9 per cent of Teck’s class A shares and 0.1 per cent of its class B shares. It also holds a 49 ...

Book invites kids to turn native gardens into national park

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:51:05 GMT

Doug Tallamy, the wildlife ecologist and entomologist who urges home gardeners to join forces and create a pollinator-friendly “Homegrown National Park,” is now bringing kids into the effort.Tallamy has become a leading evangelist for the return of native plants and trees that can support birds, bees and other essential wildlife. Anyone with a yard, patio or windowsill can chip in.And they can encourage parks, playgrounds, schools and colleges, hospitals and office buildings, golf courses and even airports to join in, he urges.Tallamy’s new book, “Nature’s Best Hope: How You Can Save the World in Your Own Yard” (Timber Press), is aimed at middle schoolers (and, he hopes, their parents) in time for Earth Day. It follows his influential 1999 book for a general audience, “Nature’s Best Hope: A New Approach to Conservation that Starts in Your Yard.”He hopes the book will carry the message into classrooms around the country.“The idea is that kids are the future stewards of ou...

Dutch salvage team set to pump oil off rusting Yemen tanker

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:51:05 GMT

AMSTERDAM (AP) — A Dutch salvage company has reached agreement with the United Nations to pump oil from a rusting tanker off the coast of war-ravaged Yemen in a move hailed as a “critical milestone” in moves to avert a possible environmental disaster, its parent company announced Thursday.Boskalis said that its Smit Salvage subsidiary has reached agreement with the U.N. Development Program to transfer more than one million barrels of oil from the decaying tanker FSO Safer. A specialist support ship, the Ndeavor, is setting sail Friday to the east African nation of Djibouti to prepare for the mission, the company said.The announcement came just over a month after the U.N. said it had signed an agreement to buy a very large vessel that can hold oil pumped off the Safer.The Japanese-made Safer was built in the 1970s and sold to the Yemeni government in the 1980s to store up to 3 million barrels of oil pumped from fields in Marib, a province in eastern Yemen. With the impoverished Arab ...

Texan princess evicted from Rome villa, Caravaggio stays

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:51:05 GMT

ROME (AP) — A Texas-born princess piled her four yapping bichon frise dogs into a taxi Thursday after being evicted, following a bitter inheritance dispute, from a historic villa in Rome that contains the only known ceiling painted by Caravaggio.Princess Rita Jenrette Boncompagni Ludovisi, nee Rita Carpenter, abandoned the Casino dell’Aurora off the swank Via Veneto hours after Carabinieri police arrived to enforce a court-mandated eviction order. Before she had even left, a locksmith changed the locks on the big green front door. Her dramatic exit — one of the dogs briefly escaped as she spoke to journalists on the street — capped a remarkable, years-long soap opera that exposed the dirty laundry of one of Rome’s aristocratic families. The Boncompagni Ludovisi are perhaps best known for having produced Pope Gregory XIII of Gregorian calendar fame. But lately they have attracted more attention due to the inheritance dispute and court-mandated auction of their famous villa in the hea...