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Portsmouth, NH public schools closed Thursday due to threat 

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:32:00 GMT

All public schools in Portsmouth, New Hampshire will be closed Thursday due to a threat investigation, officials announced. The city announced the closure Wednesday night.No further information was immediately available. This is a developing story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest updates.

Severe flooding strikes Fort Lauderdale as parts of South Florida face historic amounts of rainfall

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:32:00 GMT

(CNN) — Substantial downpours have inundated Fort Lauderdale and parts of South Florida Wednesday night in a once-in-a-half-century rainfall event, leading to a flash flood emergency in Broward County and one mayor calling the deluge the “most severe flooding that I’ve ever seen.”Around 10 to 14 inches of rain have fallen across the area Wednesday and an additional two to four inches are possible as heavy thunderstorms continue to move slowly across the area.Fort Lauderdale “is experiencing severe flooding in multiple areas of the city,” Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue said on social media, warning to stay off the roads as vehicles may become stuck or submerged.A flash flood emergency — the highest level of flood warning — has been issued for portions of South Florida, including Fort Lauderdale, according to the National Weather Service (NWS) in Miami Wednesday night.“This is a PARTICULARLY DANGEROUS SITUATION,” the N...

Wednesday’s high school roundup/scores: Teddy Swanson tosses gem for Hingham

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:32:00 GMT

BASEBALLJunior Teddy Swanson passed his first varsity start with flying colors, delivering a two-hit shutout with seven strikeouts as Hingham (1-2) topped Patriot League foe Scituate 5-0. … Evan Yakavonis struck out seven batters and surrendered just one hit and one walk over six innings, while Zack Casey (RBI double, three runs) and Dave Martin (three hits) spurred the Whitman-Hanson (3-2) offense in a 10-0 rout of Plymouth South. … Mike Hannon batted 3-for-4 with a triple and the defense generated a triple play to get out of a jam in the seventh inning, propelling Plymouth North (3-1) over Hanover, 5-3. … Jack Keane fanned 10 hitters and surrendered one earned run, while Jack Croft and Branden Raftes knocked in two runs each as Marshfield downed North Quincy, 5-2.Brady Collins (five strikeouts) and Tedy Cove (three strikeouts) combined for a one-hitter from the mound, while James Benestad (double, triple) scored twice and drove in two more as St. John’s of Shrewsbury rolled to a f...

Here's how to see blooms in Borrego Springs before they leave us

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:32:00 GMT

BORREGO SPRING, Calif. -- The desert is blooming.Yellow, purple and white flowers are popping up in the Anza-Borrego Desert.“If you can come, then come, it’s beautiful,” said Jim Wermers, honorary mayor of Borrego Springs. “A lot of cactus are in bloom.”Borrego Springs leaders are expecting thousands of visitors to see the flowers and cactus blooms this season and they are prepared.“We’re told there could be more than 100,000 that come in, any weekend or weekday, there’s hundreds of people,” Wermers said.When you drive down the mountain leading into Borrego Springs, there’s a white sign that reads “Wildflower Information” with an arrow leading to one of two visitor information centers from the Anza-Borrego Foundation, where visitors can get maps, buy souvenirs and get directions to the best places to see the blooms, how long the trails are and what you are capable of seeing depending on your time frame and vehicle. According to local leaders, the peak has been happening this week, a...

US, Ukraine say many war secrets safe from intel leaks

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:32:00 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Ukraine’s leaders say they don’t see a major U.S. intelligence leak as gravely damaging future offensives. A key reason: They have long held back on sharing their most sensitive operational information, doubting Washington’s ability to keep their secrets safe.Ukrainian and U.S. officials said this week that only Ukrainians know some battle plans and other operational information, not the Americans, their most important ally. That means the leak of secret military documents, including some assessing Ukraine’s battlefield strengths and weaknesses against Russia, may not have been enough — so far — to change the course of the war.“If military operations are planned, then only a very narrow circle of people know about the planning of the special operation,” Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said Wednesday on Ukrainian television. “The risk of leaks is very minimal” for the most important war matters.Still, the U.S. sees the leaks as grave. The documents ...

Gulf nations Bahrain, Qatar to restore ties after boycott

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:32:00 GMT

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The Gulf nations of Bahrain and Qatar agreed to restore diplomatic relations late Wednesday.Bahrain had been the last holdout of four Arab nations that imposed a boycott on Qatar in 2017. They were angered by Qatar’s support for Islamist groups that rose to power in some countries following the 2011 Arab Spring protests, which the other autocratic nations viewed as terrorist organizations.The boycott was lifted at the start of 2021, and Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt have restored ties with Qatar since then, with top leaders paying official visits in recent months.Bahrain and Qatar each issued official statements announcing the decision to restore relations following a meeting between their delegations at the headquarters of the Gulf Cooperation Council, a six-nation bloc of which both are members, in the Saudi capital of Riyadh.The four nations had severed all ties to Qatar, and at the height of the crisis there was even ta...

In new book, Murakami explores walled city and shadows

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:32:00 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — Haruki Murakami wrote a story of a walled city when he was fresh off his debut. More than four decades later, as a seasoned and acclaimed novelist, he gave it a new life as “The City and Its Uncertain Walls.”It was three years ago when he felt the time had come to revisit the story that he thought was imperfect but had important elements, such as the wall and the shadow, and tackle them again based on what he was feeling on his skin.“Because of the coronavirus … I hardly went out and stayed home most of the time, and I tended to look at my inner self. Then I thought, perhaps it’s time to write that story,” Murakami said. And he did, “as if recovering it from the back of a drawer.” He started writing it in January 2020 and finished in December 2022, years that overlapped with multiple earthshattering events. “When I write a novel, I just know it’s time,” he said.There were also Russia’s war on Ukraine, shaken globalism and the Pandora’s box of social media, Murakam...

B.C. Chinese communities tell Mendicino of intimidation by foreign powers and proxies

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:32:00 GMT

VANCOUVER — Federal Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino says Chinese community members in Vancouver have told him of “intimidation, harassment and abuse” linked to foreign governments or their proxies, confirming the need for a foreign agent registry.Mendicino said he met Wednesday with a “robust cross-section” of people from the communities.The results, he said, reinforced the need for a registry of agents who are acting on behalf of foreign governments in Canada.“Foreign interference is a phenomenon that has existed for many years, but it has become a more insidious threat to our national security landscape,” Mendicino said after the meeting.“And so that’s why we have (been), and will continue to be, very proactive in putting in place the people, the resources and the tools that are necessary to combat foreign interference.”The federal government announced in March that it wants to hear from Canadians on creating a foreign influence transparency re...

AISD, Austin Apartment Association partner to find affordable rentals for teachers

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:32:00 GMT

Austin ISD is taking steps to help teachers find more affordable housing."In AISD we have an exclusive deal with the Austin Apartment Association," said Arnoldo Gutierrez, assistant superintendent of human capital with Austin ISD.In a partnership announced on KXAN, the school district is working with the Austin Apartment Association to find apartments that will offer incentives for teachers."From discounted rates, to waving some fees," said Gutierrez. "It is something that is exclusive for our teachers in Austin ISD."Austin ISD Trustee Candace Hunter says she knows the struggles teachers face when it comes to finding affordable housing in Austin."Our schools are in the core (of the city)," said Hunter. "So that is east, northeast, southeast and central Austin where those areas are rapidly gentrifying which is putting those rents into the stratosphere." Austin ISD identifies two potential sites for teacher, staff affordable housing Lyndsay Hanes with the Austin Apartment Associatio...

White House urges meat processors to guard against child labor in their industry

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:32:00 GMT

OMAHA, Neb. — The Biden administration is urging U.S. meat processors to make sure children aren’t being illegally hired to perform dangerous jobs at their plants.The call comes after an investigation found more than 100 kids working overnight for a company that cleans slaughterhouses, handling dangerous equipment like skull splitters and razor-sharp bone saws.Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack sent a letter Wednesday to the 18 largest meat and poultry producers urging them to examine the hiring practices at their companies and suppliers. The letter is part of a broader effort by the administration to crack down on the use of child labor. The Labor Department has reported a 69% increase since 2018 in the number of children being employed illegally in the U.S.“The use of illegal child labor — particularly requiring that children undertake dangerous tasks — is inexcusable, and companies must consider both their legal and moral responsibilities to ensure they and their suppl...