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China factory activity shrinks in July, adding to pressure to reverse economic slump

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:49:43 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — Chinese factory activity contracted in July as export orders shrank, a survey showed Monday, adding to pressure on the ruling Communist Party to reverse an economic slowdown.A purchasing managers’ index issued by the national statistics agency and an industry group improved to 49.3 from June’s 49 on a 100-point scale but was below the 50-point level that shows activity contracting.“China’s manufacturing PMI remained in contraction, albeit a softer pace, as the drag from the external sector deepened,” Erin Xin of HSBC said in a report. That puts “more pressure on Beijing to support growth through both fiscal and monetary measures.”Chinese leaders are trying to revive economic activity by promising to support entrepreneurs who generate jobs and wealth. But they have yet to give details possible tax cuts or spending and have avoided announcing a large-scale stimulus.Demand for Chinese exports weakened after U.S. and European interest rates were raised to cool record-brea...

Mar-a-Lago worker charged in Trump’s classified documents case to make first court appearance

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:49:43 GMT

MIAMI (AP) — An employee of Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, Carlos De Oliveira, is expected to make his first court appearance Monday on charges accusing him of scheming with the former president to hide security footage from investigators probing Trump’s hoarding of classified documents. De Oliveira, Mar-a-Lago’s property manager, was added last week to the indictment with Trump and the former president’s valet, Walt Nauta, in the federal case alleging a plot to illegally keep top-secret records at Trump’s Florida estate and thwart government efforts to retrieve them. De Oliveira faces charges including conspiracy to obstruct justice and lying to investigators. He’s scheduled to appear before a magistrate judge in Miami nearly two months after Trump pleaded not guilty in the case brought by special counsel Jack Smith. The developments in the classified documents case come as Trump braces for possible charges in another federal investigation int...

As work begins on the largest US dam removal project, tribes look to a future of growth

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:49:43 GMT

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — The largest dam removal project in United States history is underway along the California-Oregon border — a process that won’t conclude until the end of next year with the help of heavy machinery and explosives.But in some ways, removing the dams is the easy part. The hard part will come over the next decade as workers, partnering with Native American tribes, plant and monitor nearly 17 billion seeds as they try to restore the Klamath River and the surrounding land to what it looked like before the dams started to go up more than a century ago.The demolition is part of a national movement to return the natural flow of the nation’s rivers and restore habitat for fish and the ecosystems that sustain other wildlife. More than 2,000 dams have been removed in the U.S. as of February, with the bulk of those having come down within the last 25 years, according to the advocacy group American Rivers.The removal of four hydroelectric dams along the Klamat...

Idaho mom Lori Vallow Daybell faces sentencing in deaths of 2 children and her romantic rival

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:49:43 GMT

ST. ANTHONY, Idaho (AP) — Idaho mother Lori Vallow Daybell faces up to life in prison without parole Monday as she is sentenced in the murders of her two youngest children and a romantic rival in a case that included bizarre claims that her son and daughter were zombies and that she was a goddess sent to usher in the Biblical apocalypse.Vallow Daybell was found guilty in May of killing her two youngest children, 7-year-old Joshua “JJ” Vallow and 16-year-old Tylee Ryan, as well as conspiring to kill Tammy Daybell, her fifth husband’s previous wife. The husband, Chad Daybell, is awaiting trial on the same murder charges. Vallow Daybell also faces two other cases in Arizona — one on a charge of conspiring with her brother to kill her fourth husband, Charles Vallow, and one of conspiring to kill her niece’s ex-husband. Charles Vallow was shot and killed in 2019, but her niece’s ex survived an attempt later that year.Monday’s sentencing will take place at the Fremont Co...

Simi Valley neighbors get in violent brawl

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:49:43 GMT

Two Simi Valley neighbors have been arrested after getting into a violent fight that left each man seriously injured, authorities announced Sunday.  Officers with the Simi Valley Police Department responded to the 300 block of Aristotle Street on reports of a “neighbor dispute” in which one of the men had been stabbed, officials said in news release. At the scene, officers found 41-year-old David Corralejo outside the location. He was bleeding from the head and told police that he had been hit on the head with a shovel.  The 41-year-old was taken to a local hospital to receive treatment for a serious, but non-life-threatening head injury.   Wrong-way driver dies after crashing into tree The second neighbor, identified as 22-year-old Adam Mathison, was uncooperative, refusing to come outside of his home, police said. Over the phone, the 22-year-old told authorities that he had been stabbed in the upper chest by Corralejo. After 40 minutes, Mathison surrendered h...

Multiple explosive devices found at Fremont business: police

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:49:43 GMT

(KRON) -- The Fremont Police Department located several explosive devices at a business in the area of Industrial Place and Industrial Drive around 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, the department said. Officers responded to a domestic violence incident at the business, which resulted in a suspect being placed under arrest and his registered firearms set to be seized. The firearms were learned to most likely be in several safes within the business, police said. After police obtained search warrants, they opened the safes and founds several explosive devices. Officers immediately evacuated nearby industrial businesses in the area and contacted the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office Bomb Squad around 3:45 p.m. They are currently in the process of destroying the explosives as of 8:12 p.m., police said. Deputies discover man covered in blood, two women with stab wounds at Redwood City home No injuries have been reported, and there is no threat to the community. The area is still active with pol...

San Francisco small business burglarized 7 times since pandemic

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:49:43 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- Kung Food, a small business near Alamo Square, was broken into recently. This incident marks the seventh time the San Francisco business has been vandalized or broken into since 2020. Why one small business owner is leaving San Francisco Despite reaching out to local leaders and police, owner Andy Yang has not received any help. The business has signs posted outside letting potential criminals know there is no money inside. "Posting a sign in front of our door is really our last resort. As a way to express our frustration and our discontentment with our city officials," said Yang.The store's video surveillance shows a man breaking the door open and heading straight to the cash register. He managed to get $100 from the register, along with two iPads."The repair cost us about $500," said Yang. "There's a bus stop right next to us. If people spot that it's open, they're just going to come in and trash the place."According to Yang, the break-ins have been an o...

What to stream this week: ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,’ Quavo, ‘Reservation Dogs’ and ‘Mixtape’

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:49:43 GMT

“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,” “The Lost Flowers of Alice Hunt” with Sigourney Weaver and Quavo’s album “Rocket Power” are among the new television, movies, music and games headed to a device near youAmong the offerings worth your time as selected by The Associated Press’ entertainment journalists are “Mixtape,” a Paramount+ documentary celebrating hip-hop, and the return of the acclaimed comedy “Reservation Dogs” for its third and final season on FX on Hulu.NEW MOVIES TO STREAM— James Gunn’s “Guardians of the Galaxy” reaches an appropriately sincere, satirical and cornball finale in “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.” The film, one of the few non-“Barbie” or “Oppenheimer” summer hits, arrives Wednesday on Disney+ having already grossed $844 million in worldwide ticket sales. Gunn’s underdog superhero trilogy culminates with a tale focused on a backstory for Rocket, Bradley Cooper’s wise-cracking raccoon, and a showdown with a supervillain (Chukw...

For remote and laid back Dunedin, a warm welcome to the Women’s World Cup

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:49:43 GMT

DUNEDIN, New Zealand (AP) — Hanging on the edge of the stunning South Island, in one the world’s more remote countries, sat a scenic, minor-league sized city founded by Scottish immigrants. Then, a few weeks ago, one of the world’s biggest sporting events came to town, bringing in thousands of visitors.Reporter, in a cab: “So, is Dunedin excited for the Women’s World Cup?” Cab driver: “Yes – and no.” Welcome to Dunedin, which at a latitude of 45.88 degrees South is the southernmost city to ever host a match in a soccer World Cup, men’s or women’s. It may also be among the quirkiest spots, a place of contradictions. Locals have been excited to host the Women’s World Cup, but not necessarily to go see a game.With the city about to host its last game of the Women’s World Cup on Tuesday, Netherlands vs. Vietnam with first place in Group E on the line for the Dutch, it’s time for a little tour of what soccer at the bottom of the world has looked like.QUIET FANDOMDuring Dunedin’s time in ...

Grab a telescope and a beach chair: Shenandoah Night Sky Festival to feature Perseid meteor shower

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:49:43 GMT

Stargazing at Big Meadows, just at the entrance of Rapidan Road, during the 2018 Night Sky Festival. This program was led by Park Rangers with Greg Redfern also talking about the night sky. (Courtesy NPS/Mary O’Neill)Star gazers from across the country are expected to make the trip to Shenandoah National Park’s Annual Night Sky Festival this year.“This year we’re really expecting a big turnout because the Perseid meteor shower will be occurring during the Night Sky Festival. The moon will be out of the way,” said Greg Redfern, WTOP’s space contributor and NASA solar system ambassador.Amateur astronomers will gather for a “Telescope Party” to witness the phenomenon Saturday August 12th at 10:30 p.m. at the Dickey Ridge Visitor Center with Northern Virginia Astronomy Club or Big Meadows with Rappahannock Astronomy Club, Richmond Astronomical Society and the University of Virginia Department of Astronomy.Visitors will get a chance to view...