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New gas pipeline rules floated following 2018 blasts in Lawrence

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:55 GMT

By STEVE LeBLANC (Associated Press)BOSTON (AP) — Federal regulators are proposing a series of rules changes aimed at toughening safety requirements for millions of miles of gas distribution pipelines nationwide following a string of gas explosions in Massachusetts in 2018.These proposed changes are designed to improve safety and ease risk through the improvement of emergency response plans, integrity management plans, operation manuals and other steps, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.This proposal was prompted by the series of blasts that ripped though parts of the Merrimack Valley region of Massachusetts.The explosions and fires in Lawrence, Andover and North Andover in September 2018 left a teenager dead, about two dozen injured and destroyed or damaged more than 130 properties. Thousands of residents and businesses were also left without natural gas service for heat and hot water for months in some cases....

Subway chain will be sold to Arby’s owner Roark Capital

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:55 GMT

Sandwich chain Subway said Thursday it will be sold to the private equity firm Roark Capital.Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed. Earlier this week, The Wall Street Journal reported that Roark was offering around $9.6 billion for Subway, which is privately owned.Subway CEO John Chidsey said the deal reflects Subway’s long-term growth potential and the value of the brand. Subway plans to continue to modernize restaurants and expand internationally under Roark’s ownership.Roark is a private equity firm with $37 billion in assets under management. It specializes in franchised businesses, and owns multiple restaurant chains, including Arby’s, Dunkin’ and Buffalo Wild Wings.Subway, which has dual headquarters in Miami and Connecticut, was founded in 1965 and is still owned by its founding families. It’s now one of the world’s largest restaurant chains, with 37,000 outlets in more than 100 countries.But in the U.S., it has been losing market share...

Police investigate stabbing in Old Town

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:55 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- A man was injured after being stabbed by a suspect in the Old Town neighborhood Wednesday evening, authorities said.According to the San Diego Police Department, a 72 year-old man was stabbed by an unknown suspect on the 4000 block of Taylor Street shortly before 6:30 p.m. Police searching for suspect in College Area rabbi attack; $3,500 reward offered The victim was reportedly stabbed in the stomach and was transported to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries, police said.There is no description of any suspect at this time.The circumstances surrounded the stabbing are still being investigated with San Diego Police Western Division leading the charge.Anyone with information related to the incident is encouraged to call Crime Stoppers at 888-580-8477.

London Zoo’s animals, from tarantulas to tigers, get their annual weigh-in

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:55 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Staff at London Zoo got the measure of giant gorillas, plump penguins and skinny stick insects at the zoo’s annual animal weigh-in on Thursday.Zookeepers tempted squirrel monkeys onto scales, totted up tarantulas and used a curry-scented measuring stick to coax Sumatran tigers to stretch out.Staff at the zoo, which is home to some 14,000 animals, will take several days to weigh and measure every mammal, bird, reptile, fish and invertebrate in its care. The results go into a database that is shared with zoos around the world.Angela Ryan, head of zoological operations at London Zoo, said an animal’s weight is vital information that can reveal whether creatures are healthy, and even which are pregnant.“We have critically endangered animals here,” she said. “It’s absolutely vital that we are managing them, managing their health, that we’re breeding them and breeding them well and we’re having healthy offspring that can breed on again.”The Associated Press

Man dead after transport truck falls through hole in roadway in southwestern Ontario

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:55 GMT

A man is dead after his transport truck fell into a hole in the road that was washed out by torrential rains in southwestern Ontario Wednesday night.Provincial police and first responders were called to an area on Dundonald Road, 60 km southwest of London, Ont., around 10 p.m. for reports of a single-vehicle collision. When they arrived they found a transport truck that had fallen through a large gap in the roadway, the result of flash flooding due to thunderstorms that rolled through the region last night.FLOOD ALERT – #MiddlesexOPP dealing with multiple collisions in @SouthwestMiddl1 due to significant flooding. Many roads are flooded and/or washed out. Please avoid the area and Do Not Drive on flooded roads. @CountyMiddlesex @CountyofLambton ^jh pic.twitter.com/pcQIyg2BdS— OPP West Region (@OPP_WR) August 24, 2023Police say the driver of the truck was pronounced dead at the scene.“Last night we had some unprecedented storms come through and the flooding was monu...

Police seek suspect who stole money from donation boxes in Mississauga temple

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:55 GMT

Peel regional police are tying to find a suspect who broke into a place of worship in the Malton area of Mississauga and stole money from donation boxes.Investigators say the break-in took place on Monday, June 12, sometime between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m. at a temple in the 1800 block of Drew Road.Police say there was no damage to the temple’s religious symbols or artifacts.Security image of a suspect who stole money from donation boxes in a Mississauga temple. HANDOUT/Peel Regional Police“Investigators are confident that the suspect’s motives were to steal the contents of the donation boxes and that this was not a hate-motivated crime,” police said in a release.The suspect is described as male with a dark complexion and average build. He was wearing a black hoody with the hood up, white surgical facemask, black pants, and Nike running shoes (grey with white trim).

Maui fires renew centuries-old tensions over water rights. The streams are sacred to Hawaiians

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:55 GMT

LAHAINA, Hawaii (AP) — Shortly after the ignition of the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century, a developer of land around a threatened Maui community urgently asked state officials for permission to divert water from streams to fight the growing inferno.West Maui Land Company, Inc. said it eventually received approval from the Hawaii commission that oversees water management, but suggested the state body didn’t act quickly enough and first directed the company to talk with a downstream taro farmer who relies on stream water, according to letters by a company executive obtained by The Associated Press and other news outlets. Community members, including Native Hawaiian farmers, say the water the developer wanted for its reservoirs would not have made a difference in the fires. The reservoirs don’t supply Maui County’s fire hydrants, and firefighting helicopters — which could have dipped into the reservoirs for water — were grounded by high winds.The Aug. 8 fire that killed ...

Norway rebuilding reindeer fence along border with Russia to stop costly hooves’ crossings

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:55 GMT

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Norway is rebuilding a dilapidated reindeer fence along its border with Russia in the Arctic to stop the animals from wandering into the neighboring country — costly strolls for which Oslo has to compensate Moscow over loss of grassland. Norwegian officials said Thursday that so far this year, 42 reindeer have crossed into Russia seeking better pastures and grazing land. The reindeer barrier along the Norway-Russia border spans 150 kilometers (93 miles) and dates back to 1954. The Norwegian Agriculture Agency said a stretch of about 7 kilometers (4 miles) between the Norwegian towns of Hamborgvatnet and Storskog would be replaced. The construction, with a price tag of 3.7 million kroner ($348,000), is to be completed by Oct. 1, the agency said.The work is a challenge, however, as the workers have to stay on the Norwegian side of the border “at all times” during construction, “which makes the work extra demanding,” said Magnar Evertsen of the ag...

Stock market today: Wall Street is drifting as yields in the bond market steady

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:55 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street is drifting on Thursday following a blowout profit report from Nvidia and some mixed reports on the U.S. economy. The S&P 500 was 0.1% higher in morning trading and remains on track to break a three-week losing streak. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 61 points, or 0.2%, at 34,534, as of 10:13 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.1% lower.Nvidia was in the spotlight after it reported much stronger profit and revenue for the latest quarter than expected. That raised hopes that this year’s frenzy on Wall Street around artificial-intelligence technology isn’t just hype.Nvidia first stunned the market three months ago when it said the quick adoption of AI would send its revenue soaring in the three months through July. Its sales came in even better than forecast, at $12.51 billion, and the company gave a forecast for the current quarter that again blew past Wall Street’s expectations.Nvidia climbed 3.1%, bringing its gain for the year ...

Shein and Forever 21 team up in hopes of expanding reach of both fast-fashion retailers

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:55 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Fast fashion retailers Shein and Forever 21 are going into business together.Under a partnership agreement announced Thursday, the Chinese-founded Shein will acquire about one-third interest in Sparc Group, Forever 21’s operator. Sparc will also become a minority shareholder in Shein.The deal is expected to expand Forever 21’s distribution on Shein’s global e-commerce platform, which has attracted 150 million online users. In turn, the partnership “also offers the opportunity to test” Shein product sales and returns in physical Forever 21 stores across the U.S., the companies said in a joint release. Forever 21 has more than 540 locations worldwide and online. The announcement did not disclose financial details of the deal. The Wall Street Journal first reported the deal between Shein and Sparc Thursday.Sparc is a joint venture that includes brand development company Authentic Brands Group and mall operator Simon Property Group. Beyond the U.S.-base...