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Hyundai is rapidly building its first US electric vehicle plant, with production on track for 2025

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:49:41 GMT

ELLABELL, Ga. (AP) — The steel skeletons of buildings where Hyundai will stamp, weld, paint and assemble electric vehicles in Georgia span more than a half mile on a sprawling site dotted with so many cranes, bulldozers and construction workers that it almost looks like they’re building a small city.A year has passed since Hyundai Motor Group broke ground on the $7.6 billion vehicle and battery plant, the South Korean automaker’s first U.S. factory dedicated to producing EVs. Hyundai officials said more than 2,000 people are working each week on the rapidly progressing project west of Savannah, which the company calls its American “metaplant.” “The site is advancing every day as we work diligently to complete this amazing project,” Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America CEO Oscar Kwon told reporters visiting the site Wednesday. “We are on track to start production in early 2025 — or, as my boss Jose Munoz likes to say, if not sooner.”Munoz, Hyundai’s pre...

A warmer than usual summer blamed for hungry, hungry javelinas ripping through Arizona golf course

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:49:41 GMT

SEDONA, Ariz. (AP) — Operators of a northern Arizona golf course think they have finally found the right repellent for javelinas ripping apart their turf — chili oil.“Even though they’re Southwest animals, they don’t like Southwest seasoning,” Dave Bisbee, general manager at Seven Canyons Golf Club in Sedona, said Tuesday. This is not the first autumn the golf course has been targeted by foraging javelinas. Bisbee said it’s occurred several times over the years, but the amount of damage he saw is rare. The hotter than normal summer felt in various regions of Arizona is likely what has driven the pig-like peccary to take big bites out of the golf course. The Sedona area saw less than 2 inches (5 centimeters) of rain this whole summer. Last year, the golf course was drenched with 18 inches (46 centimeters) of rain over the course of the summer storm season, also known as monsoon season, Bisbee recalled.“We had zero damage,” he said. The tearing of turf started happening six week...

Jean Charest’s son reacts after Legault says comparison to ex-premier is ‘insulting’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:49:41 GMT

QUEBEC — Jean Charest’s son is sticking up for his father after Quebec Premier François Legault suggested it’s an insult to be compared to the former premier.Antoine Dionne Charest wrote on the X platform, formerly known as Twitter, that Legault’s decision to insult a former premier was disrespectful, ungenerous and unworthy of the office he holds.The dispute comes after Parti Québécois Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon suggested in the legislature that Legault’s discourse on Quebec independence is identical to that of Charest and former prime minister Jean Chrétien.Referring to the recent exchanges with the PQ leader, Legault can be heard in a video published by the Journal de Québec asking if there could be “anything more insulting” than being compared to Charest, who led the province from 2003 to 2012. The sovereignty debate has been resurrected in the legislature in recent days as the Parti Québécois presented its theoretical budget for the firs...

Accused RCMP leaker never spoke of doing undercover operations: former colleague

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:49:41 GMT

OTTAWA — A former colleague of Cameron Jay Ortis, who is accused of disclosing secrets to people of interest to police, has testified in court that Ortis never mentioned taking part in undercover operations.Dan Morris told the Ontario Superior Court that Ortis did not speak to him about contacting the targets of RCMP investigations.  The Crown alleges Ortis, a former RCMP intelligence official, anonymously sent classified information in 2015 to people who were of investigative interest to the national police force.Ortis, 51, has pleaded not guilty to violating the Security of Information Act by allegedly revealing secrets to three individuals and trying to do so in a fourth instance.Ortis’s lawyers have said they will argue their client had the authority to take the actions he did.Reporters and the general public were excluded from the courtroom for Morris’s appearance Monday, but an edited transcript of his testimony was released today.This report by The Canadian Press ...

Some companies using lots of water want to be more sustainable. Few are close to their targets

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:49:41 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Major corporations in water-guzzling industries such as clothing, food, beverage and technology want to be better stewards of the freshwater they use — especially as drought, floods and other extreme weather intensified by climate change threaten their supply chains. But of 72 companies ranked by a sustainability nonprofit over the past year, few are close to achieving their 2030 targets.Last year, Ceres launched an effort to press companies with large water footprints to protect those resources and address related financial risks. On Wednesday, the group released an analysis that found most of the assessed companies — including such powerhouses as Coca-Cola, General Mills and Amazon — have set targets but aren’t close to meeting them.“There’s no doubt that companies need to do better,” said Kirsten James, senior program director for water at Ceres.Ceres said the companies were chosen from the four sectors based on factors including size and their impact on w...

France’s Macron seeks international support for his proposal to build a coalition against Hamas

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:49:41 GMT

PARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron sought to promote — with little success so far — the creation of an international coalition to fight the armed Palestinian group Hamas, during a two-day trip to the Middle East that started in Israel.Leaders he met with in Israel, the West Bank, Jordan and Egypt didn’t publicly address the issue. The first response to the devastating Israel-Hamas war is “the fight against terrorism,” Macron said Wednesday after his meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi.“The right response is to cooperate, to draw lessons from the international coalition against the Islamic State group” that intervened in Iraq and Syria, he added. Macron first made the proposal Tuesday after his meeting with Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, mentioning the idea of a “regional and international coalition” against the Hamas group that rules the Gaza Strip.Netanyahu did not specifically comment on the French offer. The French presidency la...

Docs: Sergio Brown planned to travel to Colombia after allegedly murdering mother

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:49:41 GMT

MAYWOOD, Ill. — Former NFL player and Maywood native Sergio Brown planned on traveling to Medellin, Colombia following the murder of his mother, prosecutors alleged Thursday.Brown, 35, was arrested in Mexico City on Oct. 7 and deported to San Diego on a first-degree murder warrant. He was transported to Maywood Tuesday and officially charged.Prosecutors outlined the murder in court on Wednesday, including that Brown allegedly planned to travel to Colombia prior to his arrest.On the night of Sept. 14, Myrtle Simmons-Brown, 73, was last seen alive at around 6 p.m. Brown and his mother lived together in the 1100 block of Nichols Lane in Maywood.A family member became concerned after text messages went unanswered and met police at the residence on Sept. 16.By then, Sergio Brown was already in Cancun, court documents allege.Back at the home, authorities noticed blood on the back patio. Neighbors began searching the area and Simmons-Brown's body was located approximately 100 to 150 feet a...

Can the Bulls take a leap forward in 2023-2024?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:49:41 GMT

CHICAGO — It's the start of a new Bulls season, but you can't blame fans for feeling pretty much the same as they did last year.After all, the majority of the roster returns, and one of the key players remain out, with the same coach hoping to get more out of the team's core over the next six months. So, as one might imagine, expectations are a bit tempered for the team as they prepare to open up the 2023-2024 season at the United Center against the Thunder at 7 p.m. Here are a few things to look for from the team as they get ready for the first of 82 games. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)Pressure mounting?While no one is talking about the job status of either one, there is certainly a thought that executive vice president Arturas Karnisovas, general manager Marc Eversley, and head coach Billy Donovan have something to prove in 2023-2024.After a fast start to the 2021-2022 season built optimism, that's slowly faded as Lonzo Ball has been forced out of the lineup with a knee i...

'Truly a miraculous find': Deer hunter helps locate 2-year-old who wandered into South Carolina woods

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:49:41 GMT

NEWBERRY COUNTY, S.C. (WSPA) – A deer hunter helped deputies in South Carolina locate a 2-year-old reported missing this weekend after hearing her crying in a wooded area."Other than being tired, thirsty, and frightened, the little girl was in good shape," the Newberry County Sheriff's Office announced Sunday afternoon on Facebook.Deputies said the 2-year-old was last seen at around 3 p.m. Sunday, after lying down with her mother for a nap. Hours later, at 6 p.m., a deer hunter heard the child crying in the woods and called 911.Using mapping technology and a helicopter unit, officials were able to locate the hunter and ultimately the girl about a mile from where she was last seen.The toddler was immediately transported to be evaluated by EMS personnel. The Newberry County Sheriff's Office thanked local citizens, clergy members and first responders for aiding in the rescue efforts, and added that "emergency service personnel from all over the country" helped in the search."It was tru...

VIDEO: Driver hits man on scooter, gets out of SUV, then drives away

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:49:41 GMT

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Police in Tampa, Florida, are looking for a hit-and-run driver who struck a man driving a motor scooter in front of a group of people."Right when it happened, I just started immediately saying goodbyes," said victim Jonathan Fitzcharles. "I was laying there on the ground, I knew I had just been hit by a car."The crash happened on Oct. 12."Everyone who came up on the scene just said, 'Do not move,'" Fitzcharles recalled. "They said, 'You cannot move. Don't even try.'"Fitzcharles said he just moved to the Tampa neighborhood of Ybor City last month, and took his moped around town whenever he could."I saw a car to my left going pretty fast," Fitzcharles said. "I said to myself, 'There's a stop sign there, we're good.'"By the time he realized he was going to get hit, he said all he could do was brace for impact."That was very hard, because you're just thinking to yourself, I mean, that's what I was screaming at the scene was, 'Am I going to die?'" Fitzcharles said. "...