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Australian state cancels 2026 Commonwealth Games over cost blowout

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:28:32 GMT

SYDNEY — Australia’s state of Victoria will pull out of hosting the 2026 Commonwealth Games due to a cost blowout, Premier Daniel Andrews announced Tuesday.The games, which were supposed to be held in five regional cities around Victoria in March 2026, would not be worth the ballooning cost, Andrews said in a press conference.“What’s become clear is that the cost of hosting these games in 2026 is not the $2.6 billion which was budgeted. It is, in fact, at least $6 billion, and could be as high as $7 billion,” Andrews said of his shock move.He added: “I will not take money out of hospitals and schools in order to fund an event that is three times the cost [that] was estimated and budgeted for last year. In terms of where we go to from here, the games will not proceed in Victoria in 2026.”Andrews said he didn’t know how much it would cost Victoria to pull out of its commitment to host the games, but insisted the regional cities which were supposed t...

Fire officials investigating fatal shed fire in Palmer

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:28:32 GMT

Authorities are investigating a shed fire in Palmer on Monday that left one person dead, officials said.Crews responding to a reported fire in the area of 17 West Ware Road around 1:15 p.m. found a shed fully involved near the rear of the residence, Palmer Fire Chief William J. Bernat Jr, Palmer Police Chief Christopher J. Burns, State Fire Marshal Peter Ostroskey, and Hampden County District Attorney Anthony D. Gulluni said in a joint statement.One resident who had been unaccounted for was later found dead in the shed. Their name has not been released.The cause of the fire remains under investigation. “Our hearts go out to this man’s family and loved ones,” Bernat said in a statement. “On behalf of the Palmer Fire Department, I want to express our sincere condolences on their tragic loss.”This is a developing news story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest details.

Man hit in head with glass bottle, another stabbed

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:28:32 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- An argument Sunday between two men in the Allied Gardens neighborhood resulted in one of the men being hit with a glass bottle and the other stabbed, authorities said.The incident occurred around 10:42 p.m. at 6850 Mission Gorge Road, Officer Robert Heims with the San Diego Police Department said in a news release.Authorities say a 34-year-old man hit a 29-year-old man in the head with a glass bottle who then retaliated by grabbing a knife and stabbing the man who hit him in the head. Mountain biker dies while trying to save dehydrated hikers in Jacumba The 34-year-old man was stabbed in the left arm and stomach, suffering serious but non-life-threatening injuries, per SDPD.When officers arrived on scene, they detained the 29-year-old, Heims said. However, as investigators reviewed the case, they clarified that there would be no arrest at this time.Anyone with information related to the above incident is encouraged to call the listedCommand handling the investigation...

Where California travelers are headed to the most this summer: study

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:28:32 GMT

SAN DIEGO (KSWB) -- Summer travel season is back in full swing and it's one of the busiest on-record in recent history. After COVID-19 travel restrictions were lifted, it's been a steady rebound of people flocking to airports looking to fill their wanderlust cravings. In some cases, crowds were bigger-than-ever nationwide, with TSA checkpoints reporting screening nearly 2.9 million travelers on June 30 -- a record for the highest number of passengers screened by the agency on record.But where are most globetrotters headed to this season? USA Today looked to answer that question by analyzing travel insurance data registered for June, July and August trips to determine the most popular summer travel destinations.European travel is in demand for Americans headed abroad this summer, with those excursions accounting for nearly 43% of all travel insurance sales. But favored destinations differ across each state. Tulum-inspired rooftop bar and pool charms the Gaslamp District In Californ...

Oregon’s Cannon Beach reopens after cougar sighting on iconic coastal rock led to closure

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:28:32 GMT

CANNON BEACH, Ore. (AP) — A cougar that climbed onto a towering rock off the coast of northwest Oregon over the weekend — probably in search of feathered prey — has abandoned the craggy formation, allowing for the popular Cannon Beach to reopen to visitors Monday.Multiple agencies and organizations, from local and state police to the state Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Parks and Recreation Department, responded to Sunday morning’s sighting of the big cat on the iconic Haystack Rock. The beach was closed to protect people and let it return to its usual habitat.The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said officials later confirmed that the animal had moved on. A game camera captured an image of it leaving the rock Sunday night, and tracks were also found heading away, federal officials said. State biologists believe the cougar ventured to Haystack Rock at low tide Saturday night to hunt birds, a behavior they have not previously witnessed at that site. “While the fore...

Australian sailor drifting in the Pacific for 3 months with dog rescued by Mexican tuna boat

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:28:32 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — An Australian sailor who had been adrift at sea with his dog for three months has been rescued by a Mexican tuna boat in international waters, the fishing vessel’s owner said Monday.Timothy Lyndsay Shaddock, 54, was aboard his incapacitated catamaran Aloha Toa in the Pacific some 1,200 miles from land when the crew of the boat from the Grupomar fleet spotted them, the company said in a statement. The company said Shaddock and his dog Bella were in a “precarious” state when found, lacking provisions and shelter. The tuna boat’s crew gave them medical attention, food and hydration, it said. Grupomar did not provide specific details on what day Shaddock was rescued or when he had started his voyage.The tuna boat, captained by Oscar Meza Oregón, was expected to arrive in the Pacific coast port of Manzanillo on Tuesday with Shaddock and Bella.Antonio Suárez Gutiérrez, Grupomar’s founder and president, said he was proud of his crew, praising them for t...

Vice President Kamala Harris matches record for tiebreaking votes in Senate

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:28:32 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Kamala Harris, who made history as the first woman, the first Black person and the first person of South Asian descent to serve as vice president, has made history again by matching the record for most tiebreaking votes in the Senate. Her 31st such vote, on Wednesday, advanced the nomination of Kalpana Kotagal to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The only other vice president to cast so many was John C. Calhoun, vice president from 1825 to 1832.“It is a moment and I think that there’s still so much left that we have yet to do,” Harris told reporters afterward.“My mother gave me great advice, which is that I may be the first to do many things,” she added. “I’m going to make sure I’m not the last.”Unlike Calhoun, who spent eight years accumulating his total, Harris reached 31 in 2 1/2 years. It’s a reflection of her unique circumstances, with a narrowly divided Senate and a sharply partisan atmosphere.“It really says more about our time, ...

US Attorney seeking federal takeover of NYC’s troubled Rikers Island jail complex

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:28:32 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — A federal prosecutor said Monday his office is seeking to have control of New York City’s trouble-plagued Rikers Island jail taken away from Mayor Eric Adam’s administration, calling conditions there a “collective failure with deep roots.”U.S. Attorney Damian Williams of the Southern District of New York said Rikers “has been in crisis for years” over several mayors’ administrations and leaders of the corrections system and he favors a court-appointed outside authority to take charge of the complex.“But after eight years of trying every tool in the toolkit, we cannot wait any longer for substantial progress to materialize,” he said in a statement, adding that his office would seek to have a court-appointed receivership put in place.An email seeking comment was sent to the mayor’s press office. Adams has resisted the idea of a federal takeover of the system and has said his administration has been taking steps to stabilize Rikers, w...

Civil rights groups sue Florida officials over new immigration law

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:28:32 GMT

MIAMI (AP) — Several civil rights groups filed a federal lawsuit on Monday challenging Florida’s new immigration law.The Southern Poverty Law Center, American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Florida, Americans for Immigrant Justice and the American Immigration Council filed the lawsuit in Miami federal court against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Attorney General Ashley Moody and Statewide Prosecutor Nicholas B. Cox on behalf of the Farmworker Association of Florida and others, according to court records.The legislation that DeSantis, a Republican, signed into law in May bolsters his migrant relocation program and limits social services for immigrants lacking permanent legal status. It also expands requirements for businesses with more than 25 staffers to use E-Verify, a federal system that determines if employees can legally work in the U.S. Another provision requires hospitals that accept Medicaid to include a citizenship question on intake forms.The lawsuit specifically focuses ...

White House lawn turns to playground for kids’ soccer clinic

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:28:32 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Kidz Bop rang out on the stereo as groups of sweaty children beamed with joy at the chance to kick around soccer balls with major league professionals at the White House Monday. Children donning jerseys of their favorite Major League Soccer teams joined first lady Jill Biden and players from FC Cincinnati, DC United, Chicago Fire and other teams for a youth soccer clinic on White House South Lawn on a sweltering afternoon. They played pickup games of soccer until the early evening. White House staff eagerly passed out water to the kids and their parents.The White House billed the event as part of Biden’s continued effort to “highlight how sports unites us, and supports and empowers young people.”“Sport is the international language, from the thrill of the goal to the joy of the win,” Biden said during the event, standing at a podium next to MLS Commissioner Don Garber and 16-year-old Nevaeh Burroughs, a D.C. Parks and Recreation representative. Before i...