Today: October 11, 2024
Today: October 11, 2024

Latest From The Los Angeles Post

World

With Griffey's help, MLB hosts HBCU All-Star Game hoping to create opportunity for Black players

Ken Griffey Jr. holds a plethora of titles, especially in this part of the country. Hall of Famer. Cultural icon. The guy who made baseball in the Pacific Northwest relevant. Arguably, the greatest of his generation. He even holds a title in association with Major League Baseball as a special adviser to Commissioner Rob Manfred. But what’s most meaningful to Griffey currently is his association with Friday’s HBCU Swingman All-Star Classic that serves as the first major event of All-Star Game festivities, featuring players from 17 Historically Black Colleges and Universities. The event was an idea generated

With Griffey's help, MLB hosts HBCU All-Star Game hoping to create opportunity for Black players
World

Florida judge to murder suspect on run for 40 years: "You knew you were running from something."

A judge in Florida has ordered a 65-year-old California fugitive held without bond in connection with the death of a woman nearly 40 years ago. Donald Santini was arrested by U.S. marshals in California last month, and extradited to Florida. He had used at least 13 aliases over the years. Santini was the last person seen with 33-year-old Cynthia “Cindy” Ruth Wood. The arrest warrant said a medical examiner determined she had been strangled, and Santini’s fingerprints were found on her body. “You being on the run for almost 40 years is a consciousness of guilt.

Florida judge to murder suspect on run for 40 years: "You knew you were running from something."
World

Fatal fire still burns on cargo ship in New Jersey, raising questions about response capability

A cargo ship burned for a third day Friday at a New Jersey port after the fire claimed the lives of two firefighters and exposed gaps in the ability of fire crews to respond to emergencies on hulking container ships. Crews shot jets of water into the Italian-flagged Grande Costa d’Avorio docked in Newark as flames flared periodically from the section of the ship where hundreds of vehicles were loaded onto multiple decks. The Coast Guard and other officials were set to hold a news conference later Friday to give an update on the situation. Newark

Fatal fire still burns on cargo ship in New Jersey, raising questions about response capability
World

Elevated mortgage rates are leading to sharply higher monthly payments even as home prices ease

Would-be homebuyers are willing to take on sharply higher mortgage payments, even as home prices have begun to pull back this year. The median monthly payment listed on applications for home purchase loans jumped 14.1% in May from a year earlier to an all-time high $2,165, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. The May figure also represents a 2.5% increase from April. “Homebuyer affordability eroded further in May as prospective buyers continue to grapple with high interest rates and low housing inventory,” Edward Seiler, the MBA’s associate vice president of housing economics, said in a release

Elevated mortgage rates are leading to sharply higher monthly payments even as home prices ease
World

Robots take questions at Geneva press conference, say they could be better leaders than humans

Robots told reporters Friday they could be more efficient leaders than humans, but wouldn’t take anyone’s job away and had no intention of rebelling against their creators. Nine AI-enabled humanoid robots sat or stood with their creators at a podium in a Geneva conference center for what the United Nations’ International Telecommunication Union billed as the world’s first news conference featuring humanoid social robots. Among them: Sophia, the first robot innovation ambassador for the U.N. Development Program; Grace, described as the world’s most advanced humanoid health care robot; and Desdemona, a rock star robot. Two, Geminoid and

Robots take questions at Geneva press conference, say they could be better leaders than humans
World

Poland starts observances of WWII massacres by Ukrainians that have marred neighborly ties

Poland’s prime minister and Catholic church leaders opened several days of observances Friday to honor victims of World War II massacres of tens of thousands of Poles by Ukrainian nationalists, which have marred the tightening strategic relations between the neighboring nations. “We can say that for many years this has been an unhealed wound in Polish-Ukrainian relations,” said Rafal Bochenek, the spokesperson for Poland’s ruling right-wing party. “We would expect truth to be told and things to be called by their proper name,” Bochenek said. Poland says the 1943-44 massacre of some 100,000 Poles by Ukrainian

Poland starts observances of WWII massacres by Ukrainians that have marred neighborly ties
World

UN report calls on Saudi Arabia to release 2 women jailed over tweets, alleging rights abuses

U.N. human rights experts on Friday called for the release of two Saudi Arabian women they say were arbitrarily detained and denied basic rights after tweeting criticism of the kingdom’s policies. Salma al-Shehab was sentenced to 34 years in prison and Nourah bint Saeed al-Qahtani was sentenced to 45 years last summer after they were arrested in separate cases in 2021. They were found guilty by a special court originally established to try terrorists but which has broadened its mandate in recent years amid a heavy crackdown on dissent. The kingdom’s human rights record

UN report calls on Saudi Arabia to release 2 women jailed over tweets, alleging rights abuses
World

NATO leaders set to offer Ukraine major support package but membership is off the table for now

NATO leaders will agree next week to help modernize Ukraine’s armed forces, create a new high-level forum for consultations and reaffirm that it will join their alliance one day, the organization’s top civilian official said Friday. But the war-torn country will not start membership talks soon. At a two-day summit starting Tuesday in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, U.S. President Joe Biden and his counterparts will also agree to boost defense spending as allies pour weapons, ammunition and other support like uniforms and medical equipment into Ukraine, 17 months into the war. They also hope to welcome Sweden

NATO leaders set to offer Ukraine major support package but membership is off the table for now
World

Iraq opens an investigation into the kidnapping of a missing Israeli-Russian academic

Iraq opened an investigation into the case of a dual Israeli-Russian academic who has been missing in Iraq since March, a government spokesman said Friday. Bassem al-Awadi’s comments were the first official Iraqi statements since Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Wednesday that Elizabeth Tsurkov is still alive “and we hold Iraq responsible for her safety and well-being.” Netanyahu said Tsurkov is being held by the Shiite group Kataeb Hezbollah, or Hezbollah Brigades, a powerful Iran-backed group that the U.S. government listed as a terrorist organization in 2009. Tsurkov, whose work focuses on the Middle East,

Iraq opens an investigation into the kidnapping of a missing Israeli-Russian academic
World

2-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova advances to the 3rd round. Keys and Kostyuk also win

Petra Kvitova reached the third round at Wimbledon for the second year in a row, nine years after winning the second of her two titles at the All England Club. The 33-year-old Czech, who was injured in a knife attack at her home in 2016, beat Aliaksandra Sasnovich 6-2, 6-2 Friday on Day 5 of the grass-court Grand Slam tournament. The left-handed Kvitova first won the Wimbledon title in 2011 and then added another in 2014. She has only reached one other Grand Slam final, losing to Naomi Osaka in the deciding match at the 2019

2-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova advances to the 3rd round. Keys and Kostyuk also win
World

UN nuclear agency pushes for access to Zaporizhzhia plant roof after reports of Russian explosives

The head of the UN nuclear agency said Friday he was pushing for access to the roof of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine, following reports from Ukrainian officials that the Russians had planted explosives there. The plant was seized by Russia, in March 2022, in the first weeks of the war in Ukraine, raising fears of a nuclear accident. The Russians have only granted limited access to officials from the International Atomic Energy Agency, citing the security situation. Wrapping up a four-day visit to Japan, IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said his agency was

UN nuclear agency pushes for access to Zaporizhzhia plant roof after reports of Russian explosives
World

At least 1 dead, 5 wounded after shooting inside Lebanon mosque, security official says

A shooting inside a mosque during prayers left at least one person dead and five wounded Friday, a Lebanese security official said. The reason behind the shooting in the eastern town of Bar Elias was not immediately clear. The state-run National News Agency said more gunfire broke out later between Lebanese troops and the shooting suspect, who was wounded in that exchange. A security official, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with regulations, said the man killed and the five wounded were all Syrian citizens. The town is home to many Syrian refugees who fled their

At least 1 dead, 5 wounded after shooting inside Lebanon mosque, security official says
World

Belarus shows off a military camp to host Russia's Wagner mercenaries after a failed mutiny

The Belarusian military on Friday showed off a field camp it has offered to Russia’s Wagner military contractor if it relocates to Belarus under a deal that ended its mutiny. Maj. Gen. Leonid Kosinsky, an assistant to Belarus’ defense minister, told international reporters that Wagner troops could use the former Belarusian army camp near Tsel, about 90 kilometers (about 55 miles) southeast of Minsk. Journalists were shown rows of empty tents that Kosinsky said could accommodate up to 5,000 troops at the camp in the Asipovichy district that was used by the Belarusian army before

Belarus shows off a military camp to host Russia's Wagner mercenaries after a failed mutiny
World

Muslims across Pakistan hold anti-Sweden rallies to denounce burning of Islam's holy book

Muslims in Pakistan were holding rallies on Friday to observe a “Day of the Sanctity of Quran” after the South Asian Islamic nation’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif issued a call for anti-Sweden protests over last week’s burning of the Islamic holy book in Stockholm. The biggest anti-Sweden rallies were expected in the eastern city of Lahore and in Karachi, the largest city in the country. In the capital, Islamabad, lawyers holding copies of the Quran protested in front of the Supreme Court, while worshippers outside mosques held small rallies, demanding the severing of diplomatic ties with Sweden.

Muslims across Pakistan hold anti-Sweden rallies to denounce burning of Islam's holy book
World

Countries agree to slash shipping emissions but not enough to stay within warming limits

Maritime nations agreed Friday to slash emissions from the shipping industry to net zero by about 2050 in a deal that some experts and nations say falls short of what’s needed to curb warming to agreed temperature limits. Negotiators at the meeting of the United Nations’ International Maritime Organization in London, seen as key to curb global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) since pre-industrial times, rubber-stamped a deal for shipping emissions to reach net zero “by or around” 2050. The plan also calls for shipping emissions to be slashed by at least 20% but aiming for 30%

Countries agree to slash shipping emissions but not enough to stay within warming limits
World

Amsterdam court gives green light to plan to reduce flights at busy Schiphol Airport

Appeals court judges in Amsterdam ruled Friday that the Dutch government can order Schiphol Airport, one of Europe’s busiest aviation hubs, to reduce the number of flights from 500,000 per year to 460,000. The Amsterdam Court of Appeal overturned a lower court that concluded in April the government of the Netherlands did not follow the correct procedure when it told Schiphol last year to cut flights. The airport, civil aviation organizations and airlines that included Dutch flag carrier KLM challenged the government’s order. Friday’s decision can be appealed to the Dutch Supreme Court. The Amsterdam

Amsterdam court gives green light to plan to reduce flights at busy Schiphol Airport
World

NHL great Hašek demands Russians openly condemn war against Ukraine or be banned from Paris Olympics

Russian and Belarusian athletes must state loud and clear they condemn Russia for the war in Ukraine or be banned from next year’s Paris Olympics, hockey gold medalist Dominik Hašek told The Associated Press. Hašek, who won gold with the Czech Republic team at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, said he is certain their presence at the Paris Games would otherwise result in “a huge promotion of the Russian war.” The NHL great has been a prominent and vocal critic of the International Olympic Committee’s recommendation that Russians and Belarusians compete in international competitions as neutral

NHL great Hašek demands Russians openly condemn war against Ukraine or be banned from Paris Olympics
World

Chinese cities open air raid shelters for heat relief as extreme temperatures lead to deaths

Cities across China opened their air raid shelters to offer residents relief from the heat Friday as unusually high temperatures across parts of the country started claiming lives. Northern China is experiencing strings of days with record-high temperatures, compounded by drought. Earlier this week, Beijing reported more than nine straight days with temperatures exceeding 35 C (95 F), according to the National Climate Center — a streak unseen since 1961. Cities including Hangzhou on China’s east coast, Wuhan in the center of the country, and Shijiazhuang in Hebei province neighboring Beijing over the past week announced

Chinese cities open air raid shelters for heat relief as extreme temperatures lead to deaths
World

China says up to US to create 'necessary conditions' for anti-drugs cooperation

China on Friday insisted it is up to the U.S. to “create necessary conditions” for anti-drugs cooperation, following complaints from Washington that Beijing has ignored its calls for a crackdown on precursor chemicals for the highly addictive painkiller fentanyl. China takes an “active part in international anti-narcotic cooperation and firmly opposes smears and unilateral sanctions on other countries under the pretext of the fight against drugs,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said at a daily briefing. “We urge the U.S. to correct wrongdoings with concrete actions and create necessary conditions for the two countries’ anti-narcotic cooperation,” Wang

China says up to US to create 'necessary conditions' for anti-drugs cooperation
World

Thousands take part in first running of the bulls in Spain's San Fermin festival

Thousands of thrill seekers took part Friday in the first running of the bulls at the San Fermín festival in the northern Spanish city of Pamplona. Several runners took knocks and hard falls in the 8 a.m. event but no one was gored by the beasts, a frequent feature of the spectacle. The festival attracts hundreds of thousands of tourists. Nearly 1.7 million people visited Pamplona for the celebrations in 2022, and forecasts are higher for this year with all COVID-19 constraints ended. In the run, six bulls guided by six tame oxen charged along a

Thousands take part in first running of the bulls in Spain's San Fermin festival
World

Stock market today: Asian shares fall as strong US data dash hopes for an end to rate hikes

Asian shares slipped Friday after another decline on Wall Street, where hopes for an end to interest rate hikes were again shaken by strong jobs data. U.S. futures fell and oil prices were higher. Investors were watching for updates from U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s visit to Beijing, where she was meeting with senior Chinese officials to try to soothe antagonisms over a host of issues and promote global financial stability. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 shed 1.2% to 32,388.42 and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong dropped 0.8% to 18,384.17. The Shanghai Composite index lost 0.3% to 3,197.42,

Stock market today: Asian shares fall as strong US data dash hopes for an end to rate hikes
World

Drones sweep for sharks along New York's coast during rise in encounters with beachgoers

Off the coast of Long Island, drones sweep over the ocean, patrolling the water for any danger that might lurk below the surface as beachgoers grow more vigilant because of a recent spate of shark encounters. Over two days this week, five people reported being bitten by sharks at some of New York’s most popular beaches, leading to heightened surveillance of the area’s waters. The sighting of a 10-foot (3-meter) shark on Thursday prompted officials to keep people out of the water at Robert Moses State Park, the same Long Island beach that delayed its opening

Drones sweep for sharks along New York's coast during rise in encounters with beachgoers
World

South Korea endorses the safety of Japanese plans to release treated wastewater from Fukushima plant

South Korea’s government on Friday formally endorsed the safety of Japanese plans to release treated wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear power plant into sea as it tried to calm people’s fears about food contamination. Seoul’s assessment was based on a 22-month review by government-funded scientists and aligned with the International Atomic Energy Agency’s views. The agency greenlit the Japanese discharge plans this week, saying the treated wastewater would meet international safety standards and that its environmental and health impact would be negligible. South Korea’s review focused on any impact the wastewater release might have on

South Korea endorses the safety of Japanese plans to release treated wastewater from Fukushima plant
World

Yellen's visit to Beijing aims to heal rifts over a daunting array of China-US antagonisms

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is visiting Beijing as part of efforts to revive U.S.-Chinese relations that are at their lowest level in decades due to disputes over technology, security and other irritants. Presidents Joe Biden and Xi Jinping met in November and agreed to improve relations between the world’s biggest economies and major trading partners. But neither government has shown willingness to make major policy changes. “We hope the United States takes concrete actions to create a favorable environment for the healthy development of economic and trade relations,” the Chinese finance ministry said in a statement Friday.

Yellen's visit to Beijing aims to heal rifts over a daunting array of China-US antagonisms
World

Israeli forces kill 2 Palestinians in shootout in the occupied West Bank

Israeli forces killed two Palestinians in a flashpoint city in the occupied West Bank Friday, days after Israel concluded a major two-day offensive meant to crack down on militants. The Israeli domestic security agency Shin Bet said the two men, which it claimed were behind a shooting attack this week, were killed in a shoot out in the heart of the city of Nablus. The Palestinian Health Ministry said two men were killed by Israeli fire, identifying them as Khayri Mohammed Sari Shaheen, 34, and Hamza Moayed Mohammed Maqbool, 32. The deaths are part of a year-long

Israeli forces kill 2 Palestinians in shootout in the occupied West Bank

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