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The wait for US passports is creating travel purgatory and snarling summer plans

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:47:39 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Seeking a valid U.S. passport for that 2023 trip? Buckle up, wishful traveler, for a very different journey before you step anywhere near an airport.A much-feared backup of U.S passport applications has smashed into a wall of government bureaucracy as worldwide travel rebounds toward record pre-pandemic levels — with too few humans to handle the load. The result, say aspiring travelers in the U.S. and around the world, is a maddening pre-travel purgatory defined, at best, by costly uncertainty.With family dreams and big money on the line, passport seekers describe a slow-motion agony of waiting, worrying, holding the line, refreshing the screen, complaining to Congress, paying extra fees and following incorrect directions. Some applicants are buying additional plane tickets to snag in-process passports where they sit — in other cities — in time to make the flights they booked in the first place.So grim is the outlook that U.S. officials aren’t even denying th...

Stock market today: Asian shares rise on optimism over Wall Street rally

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:47:39 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares were mostly higher Monday after a rally on Wall Street driven by reports that showed inflation abating, assuaging fears over the threat of a recession. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 rose nearly 1.7% to 33,738.80 in morning trading. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added 0.5% to 7,239.80. South Korea’s Kospi jumped 1.4% to 2,601.00. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng surged 1.7% to 19,243.80, while the Shanghai Composite gained 1.3% to 3,243.24. “Asia gets the new half kicked off amid a growing sense of optimism, with low volatility buoying markets on the back of a surprisingly strong run of U.S. economic data, wiping the slate clean of recession concerns,” Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management, said in a report. The quarterly “tankan report” of business sentiment compiled by the Bank of Japan showed an improvement for the fifth consecutive quarter, from June last year, with the main indicator number rising by 3 points to plus 23. Wall...

Putin will speak with leaders of China and India in his first summit since the Wagner insurrection

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:47:39 GMT

NEW DELHI (AP) — President Vladimir Putin will participate this week in his first multilateral summit since an armed rebellion rattled Russia, as part of a rare international grouping in which his country still enjoys support.Leaders will convene virtually on Tuesday for a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, a security grouping founded by Russia and China to counter Western alliances from East Asia to the Indian Ocean.This year’s event is hosted by India, which became a member in 2017. It’s the latest avenue for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to showcase the country’s growing global clout. The group so far has focused on deepening security and economic cooperation, fighting terrorism and drug trafficking, tackling climate change and the situation in Afghanistan after the Taliban took over in 2021. When the foreign ministers met in India last month, Russia’s war on Ukraine barely featured in their public remarks but the fallout for developing countries on food ...

Ukraine conducts disaster response drills near Zaporizhzhia nuclear station

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:47:39 GMT

Ukraine conducted nuclear disaster response drills on Thursday (29 June) in the vicinity of the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station, regional officials said.Kyiv accused Russia this month of planning a "terrorist" attack at the southern plant involving the release of radiation. Moscow denied the accusation.Russia's UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said on Thursday that he wrote to the U.N. Security Council and Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to state: "We do not intend to blow up this NPP (nuclear power plant), we have no intention of doing so."Yuriy Malashko, governor of the Zaporizhzhia region that includes the plant, said the drills in Zaporizhzhia city and the district around it were intended to coordinate the response of all services to an "emergency situation" at the plant.Reuters television footage showed rescuers in yellow and white protective gear and gas masks, using dosimeters to check passenger cars and trucks for radiation levels and then cleaning wheel...

Excessive heat warnings, advisories extended through Monday in SoCal

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:47:39 GMT

Officials with the Los Angeles County Health Department have extended excessive heat warnings and advisories as the National Weather Service forecasts exceptionally high temps through the holiday weekend.  The excessive heat warnings have been extended through 8 p.m. Monday for the Antelope and Santa Clarita valleys as well as areas of San Luis Obispo County. Excessive heat advisories have also been extended through Monday for Cuyama Valley, mountain regions of Los Angeles and Ventura counties, as well as for mountainous and interior portions of San Bernardino County, according to NWS.   Southern California severe weather alerts While temperatures in parts of the San Fernando Valley hit the mid-90s Sunday, Palmdale and Lancaster reached 105 degrees. Santa Clarita residents felt temps of 99 degrees, while those in Valencia experienced 97 degrees.  “The long stretch is finally over! Downtown L.A. has reached a high temperature of 80 degrees today,” NWS said. “This end...

Police investigating after shooting in Westlake leaves 1 person wounded

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:47:39 GMT

Police are investigating after a short pursuit and a shooting led to at least one person being injured in the Westlake neighborhood of Los Angeles Sunday night.  Officers with the Los Angeles Police Department responded to the area of 8th and Park View streets at around 9:40 p.m. on reports of a shooting, LAPD told KTLA.  At the scene, police found a gunshot victim and requested an ambulance. No information about the person’s condition was provided.  Police also said that a short pursuit was initiated, lasting all of a minute, but it is unclear where the chase started and how it ended, though officers did say that the suspect was not at the scene of the shooting. LAPD on the scene of a shooting investigation that left at least one person wounded on July 2, 2023 in Westlake. (Citizen App)Video of the scene posted to the Citizen App showed a heavy police presence with an intersection in the cordoned off while authorities investigated.  It is unclear if any arrests ...

This week in business: Fed minutes, services sector and employment updates

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:47:39 GMT

A look at some of the key business events and economic indicators upcoming this week:Watching the FedThe Federal Reserve on Wednesday releases the minutes from its interest rate policy meeting in June.At the meeting, the central bank held is benchmark short-term rate steady. It had been raising rates at a feverish pace since 2022 to fight inflation, which has shown signs of cooling. The central bank is trying to gauge the ongoing impact to inflation and the economy from its rate increases and has signaled that it will likely raise rates twice more this year.Services statusThe Institute for Supply Management on Thursday releases its latest report on the services sector, which employs most Americans.Economists expect the monthly index from the Institute for Supply Management to remain relatively steady in June after slipping for several months. The sector has remained resilient despite pressure from inflation, with readings above 50 signaling growth. The sector is being watched closel...

REMA on the brain

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:47:39 GMT

Presented by SSE By CHARLIE COOPER and ABBY WALLACE PRESENTED BY View in your browser or listen to audioSNEAK PEEK— The clock is ticking for clean energy investment as the government continues its Review of Electricity Market Arrangements (REMA).— We were supposed to get a biomass strategy over the weekend — but ministers have missed their own deadline.— Zac Goldsmith, one of the leading Tory ministers backing climate and nature policies, resigned on Friday. We dissect the fallout. Happy Monday, Happy July — and a warm welcome back to POLITICO Pro Morning Energy and Climate UK. Here’s your first update of the week.As always, please send all your thoughts, musings, tips and critique to [email protected], [email protected] and [email protected]. Or talk to us on Twitter: @hargraver; @charliecooper8; @abby_wallace3. If you are not already a Pro subscriber and would like a free trial of this newsletter, sign up here.DRIVING TH...

4 Palestinians killed as Israel stages large-scale raid in West Bank militant stronghold

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:47:39 GMT

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli drones struck targets in a militant stronghold in the occupied West Bank early Monday and hundreds of troops were deployed in the area, an incursion that resembled the wide-scale military operations carried out during the second Palestinian uprising two decades ago. Palestinian health officials said at least four Palestinians were killed.Troops remained inside the Jenin refugee camp early Monday, pushing ahead with the largest operation in the area during more than a year of fighting. It came at a time of growing domestic pressure for a tough response to a series of attacks on Israeli settlers – including a shooting attack last week that killed four people.Black smoke rose from the crowded streets of the camp as the military pressed on. According to Palestinian media reports, the operation disrupted life for local residents, with electricity cut off in some parts and a military bulldozer seen driving through narrow streets – another reminder of Israel&...

Car crashes into a New Hampshire restaurant and injures several customers, fire department says

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:47:39 GMT

LACONIA, N.H. (AP) — A car crashed into a busy restaurant and injured several patrons in a lakeside town in New Hampshire Sunday afternoon, emergency officials said.The vehicle struck the Looney Bin Bar & Grill a little after 12:40 p.m. Firefighters who arrived on the scene found the car inside the restaurant, the Laconia Fire Department said in a statement. Emergency responders treated several customers at the scene and transported 14 people to area hospitals with non-life-threating medical issues including significant lower leg injuries, lacerations and contusions, the fire department said. Another 20 people were evaluated at the scene by emergency personnel but did not require transport to hospitals from the community about 27 miles (43 kilometers) north of Concord on Lake Winnipesaukee.“There were a lot of people inside due to it being lunchtime and a holiday weekend,” Laconia Fire Capt. Chad Vaillancourt said in the statement.The building sustained significant damage.The fi...