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Russia’s currency hits the lowest level since the early weeks of the war in Ukraine

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:00:33 GMT

LONDON (AP) — The Russian ruble has reached its lowest value since the early weeks of the war in Ukraine as Moscow increases military spending and Western sanctions weigh on its energy exports.On Monday, the Russian currency passed 101 rubles to the dollar, continuing a more than 25% decline in its value since the beginning of the year and hitting the lowest level in almost 17 months.President Vladimir Putin’s economic adviser, Maksim Oreshkin, on Monday blamed the weak ruble on “loose monetary policy” in an op-ed for state news agency Tass. He said a strong ruble is in the interest of the Russian economy and that a weak currency “complicates economic restructuring and negatively affects people’s real incomes.”Oreshkin said Russia’s central bank has “all the tools necessary” to stabilize the situation and said he expected normalization shortly.The bank is adhering to a floating exchange rate because “it allows the economy to effectively adapt to changing external conditions,” centra...

Clarence Avant, ‘Godfather of Black Music’ and benefactor of athletes and politicians, dies at 92

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:00:33 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Clarence Avant, the judicious manager, entrepreneur, facilitator and adviser who helped launch or guide the careers of Quincy Jones, Bill Withers and many others and came to be known as “The Godfather of Black Music,” has died. He was 92.Avant, inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2021, died Sunday at his home in Los Angeles, according to a family statement released Monday morning.Avant’s achievements were both public and behind the scenes, as a name in the credits, or a name behind the names. Born in a segregated hospital in North Carolina, he became a man of lasting and wide-ranging influence, in part by minding two pieces of advice from an early mentor, the music manager Joe Glaser: Never let on how much you know, and ask for as much money as possible, “without stuttering.”He broke in as a manager in the 1950s, with such clients as singers Sarah Vaughan and Little Willie John and composer Lalo Schifrin, who wrote the theme to “Mission: Impossible.” In...

Heavy rains trigger floods and landslides in India’s Himalayan region, leaving at least 33 dead

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:00:33 GMT

NEW DELHI (AP) — Heavy monsoon rains triggered floods and landslides in India’s Himalayan region, leaving at least 33 people dead and many others trapped, officials told local media on Monday.Torrential downpours that began over the weekend in the mountainous Himachal Pradesh state have flooded roads and washed away homes as scores of rescuers work to help those trapped under piles of debris.A cloudburst in the state’s Solan district on Sunday night killed nine people in the area, and 12 people died following two landslides in Shimla, the state’s capital, authorities told the Press Trust of India news agency.At least a dozen others were killed as heavy rains battered various parts of the state, sparking flash floods and more landslides, authorities said.The state’s chief minister, Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, said rescuers in Shimla were working to clear the debris and help those still trapped.Cloudbursts are defined as when more than 10 centimeters (3.9 inches) of rainfall occurs within...

Off Alaska coast, research crew peers down, down, down to map deep and remote ocean

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:00:33 GMT

KODIAK, Alaska (AP) — For the team aboard the Okeanos Explorer off the coast of Alaska, exploring the mounds and craters of the sea floor along the Aleutian Islands is a chance to surface new knowledge about life in some of the world’s deepest and most remote waters.The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration research vessel is on a five-month mission aboard a reconfigured former Navy vessel run by civilians and members of the NOAA Corps. The ship, with a 48-member crew, is outfitted with technology and tools to peer deep into the ocean to gather data to share with onshore researchers in real time. The hope is that this data will then be used to drive future research.“It’s so exciting to go down there and see that it’s actually teeming with life,” said expedition coordinator Shannon Hoy. “You would never know that unless we were able to go down there and explore.”Using a variety of sonars and two remotely operated vehicles — Deep Discoverer and Serios — researche...

2nd swimmer in a month abandons attempt to cross Lake Michigan, blames support boat problems

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:00:33 GMT

DETROIT (AP) — The second swimmer in a month has abandoned an attempt to cross Lake Michigan after spending hours in the water.Bryan Huffman, 49, of Holland, Michigan, began the roughly 50-mile (80-kilometer) swim Saturday morning in Wisconsin, the Detroit Free Press reported.Huffman successfully swam across the English Channel in 2022 but he didn’t have much luck in the lake. He told the newspaper he gave up after his support boat lost its steering, and he grew cold after battling a lake current. He said he managed to swim only about 12 miles (19 kilometers) in 13 hours.Jim Dreyer of Grand Haven, Michigan, abandoned his attempt to cross the lake on Aug. 1 after swimming just 10 miles (16 kilometers). He said poor weather conditions forced him to quit.The Associated Press

Crews clear roads after mudslide in the Italian Alps coats city streets in muck

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:00:33 GMT

ROME (AP) — Civil protection crews cleared mud-covered roads in an Italian Alpine city Monday after a mountain mudslide sent water, soil and debris pouring into town, bursting riverbanks. After searching homes and cars overnight, authorities said all residents were accounted for.Streets and cars in Bardonecchia, a city near Turin in the Val di Susa mountain valley, were coated in thick, gray sludge following the violent mudslides late Sunday. Witness video showed a huge wave of dirt, water and debris toppling a gate and residents running away as the muck rushed down a city street; other videos showed thick mud coursing through the river banks that pass through town.Piedmont regional governor Alberto Cirio said there were no victims and that five people initially believed to be missing had been accounted for. In a Facebook post, Cirio said damage was significant; Deputy Premier Antonio Tajani promised support from the federal government.Civil protection crews began removing the debri...

Broadway-bound revival of ‘The Wiz’ finds its next Dorothy, thanks in part to TikTok

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:00:33 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — A 24-year-old triple threat who toured in “Hairspray,” competed on “American Idol” and came to the attention of casting agents with her TikTok videos has landed the plum role of Dorothy in the Broadway-bound production of “The Wiz.”Nichelle Lewis will star in the national touring show this fall and then make her Broadway debut next year as the show’s heel-clicking heroine, following in the footsteps of such icons as Stephanie Mills and Diana Ross.“It’s been a pretty crazy journey,” she told The Associated Press before her official unveiling Monday. “I’m honored to be making my debut as Dorothy. I know I’m following in some really big footsteps.”“The Wiz” tours the U.S. starting this fall in Baltimore and will land on Broadway in 2024. Lewis joins a cast that includes Wayne Brady and Alan Mingo Jr. sharing the role of the Wiz, Deborah Cox as Glinda, Kyle Ramar Freeman as the Lion, Phillip Johnson Richardson as the Tin Man, and Avery Wilson as the Sca...

Latvia leader to step down this week after coalition partners oppose government reshuffle

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:00:33 GMT

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Latvia’s center-right prime minister, Krisjanis Karins, said Monday he will step down later this week after the two other members of his three-party governing coalition refused a reshuffle.Karins said on X, formerly known as Twitter, that the two other parties — the conservative National Alliance and the centrist electoral alliance United List — were “blocking work for welfare and economic growth.”Karins, 56, had planned to stay on as prime minister after announcing a new round of coalition talks, but the two partners said it was against the Latvian Constitution to do so, the Baltic News Service said.Following last October’s general election, the three parties signed a deal in December to form a coalition government. Together they have 54 seats in Latvia’s 100-seat parliament, the Saeima. On Friday, Karins announced his intention to end the current grouping and form a new government coalition after the two parties rejected his proposals for a ministe...

WATCH: Pilot, crew member safely eject before jet crashes at Michigan air show

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:00:33 GMT

BELLEVILLE, Mich. (AP) — A pilot and crew member escaped serious injury when they ejected from a vintage jet that crashed during a Michigan air show Sunday, officials said.The MiG-23 demonstration plane crashed during the Thunder Over Michigan Air Show shortly after 4 p.m., the Wayne County Airport Authority said in a statement.The Soviet fighter plane crashed into a parking lot and struck unoccupied vehicles at a nearby apartment complex in Belleville, about 30 miles west of Detroit. How a Georgia Trump indictment would differ from the federal Jan. 6 case No injuries were reported on the ground at the apartments or the air show hosted by the Yankee Air Museum in Belleville.The pilot and “backseater” crew member did not appear to have significant injuries but were transported to an area hospital, the authority said.The Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement that the agency will investigate with the National Transportation Safety Board.

Dwyane Wade's emotional moment at Basketball Hall of Fame enshrinement

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:00:33 GMT

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — In a Basketball Hall of Fame induction ceremony that included a few connections to the Chicagoland area, a native of the city provided one of its most memorable moments.Dwyane Wade, who was born in Chicago, grew up in Robbins, and played at Richards High School in Oak Lawn, was one of 12 members of the Class of 2023 enshrined on Saturday at the Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts. East Chicago native and Merrillville High School graduate Gregg Popovich along with former Bulls' forward Pau Gasol also took their place in the Hall of Fame this weekend.Wade, who was a 13-time All-Star and three-time NBA champion during his 16 seasons that included one with the Bulls, saluted a number of people in his life during his speech that went for about 26 minutes. That included his mother, Jolinda, and then eventually his father, Dwyane Wade Sr.It was he that Wade saved special words to end his speech in front of fellow Hall of Famers and peers."I owe you a debt of gra...