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New Bedford once lit the world with whale oil. Now it wants to do the same with wind power

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:54:00 GMT

NEW BEDFORD, Mass. (AP) — New Bedford was once the city that lit the world, exporting vast quantities of whale oil for lamps in the early 1800s. Workers packed the docks, unloading casks of oil that had been extracted at sea from whale carcasses and brought in by a fleet of hundreds of whaling ships.Nearly two centuries later New Bedford aspires to light the world again, in a different relationship with the sea, as the offshore wind industry arrives here.On Wednesday, the vessel UHL Felicity bringing wind turbine tower sections from Portugal reached the Port of New Bedford. Once assembled out on the water this summer by developer Vineyard Wind, the turbines will stand more than 850 feet high.“There’s this sort of poetic coming-about for New Bedford as a center of energy,” Mayor Jon Mitchell said.It’s also a milestone for the industry. The United States does not yet have a single commercial-scale offshore wind farm. But it will soon.THE BUILDOUTVineyard Wind is building a 62-turbine ...

23 Escalade V is Loud and Proud

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:54:00 GMT

For 2023 models, consumers are leaning in multiple ways. Whether is be towards the EV world, Hybrid or even PHEV versions for vehicles, there are those who also want to stick with gas powered engines which the market still offers.But for big power, Cadillac is knocking on doors and expanding their moderately popular V-series program from their sedan fleet to their flagship. I give you the 2023 Cadillac Escalade V 4WD. With a monster price tag, the behemoth of an SUV has seating for 7, 2nd row captains chairs, a tall and boasted exterior and unfathomable power at your loafers. The 2023 Escalade V offers a handcrafted, hand-signed, turbocharged 6.2L V8 engine producing an enormous 682 horsepower and 653 lb-ft of torque. Enabling the V button on the center console, also boasts selective features to enhance exhaust sounds similar to a Corvette and other suspension and interior appearance adjustments.Unlike their first generation from 1999, the 2023 version offers premium technologies th...

Coastal restaurants in San Diego must replace parking used for outdoor dining

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:54:00 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- Restaurant owners closest to the coastline will now be required to make up for parking spots they use for their outdoor dining.The new rule is outlined in a new California Coastal Commission regulation for coastal zones."I love being able to dine outdoors, it stinks when it has to be in the street and takes away from parking," said Lacy Cole, who lives in La Jolla.Parking near the coast continues to prove challenging. In new regulations by the California Coastal Commission, restaurants near the coast will have to replace parking spots taken up by their outdoor dining.It's a modification of the city's "Spaces As Places" outdoor dining program, which launched during the pandemic to help with indoor dining closures."It helped build morale, it certainly helped save the retailers and all restaurants," said Darren Moore, the owner of the Shore Rider Bar and Dough Mama Pizzeria.Moore said al fresco dining has been a lifeline for him."The number of people showing up has been sh...

Typhoon Mawar batters Guam, and ‘what used to be a jungle looks like toothpicks’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:54:00 GMT

HAGATNA, Guam (AP) — Guam’s governor gave the all-clear Thursday after Typhoon Mawar tore through the remote U.S. Pacific territory the night before, ripping off roofs, shedding trees and leaving much of the island of about 150,000 people without power and utilities.There were minor injuries reported but no fatalities, according to the office of Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero. She declared the “all clear” Thursday evening, returning the island to its typical condition of typhoon readiness as the National Weather Service lifted a typhoon watch. She thanked the people of Guam for keeping themselves safe and protected during the storm. “We now continue to focus our efforts on repairing infrastructure and restoring services to residents,” Leon Guerrero said in a statement. “After speaking with department leaders and seeing the incredible rapid response to the storm I am confident we will make significant progresses towards restoration of services.” Survey and work crews were assessing dam...

More Americans apply for jobless benefits but labor market remains tight

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:54:00 GMT

U.S. applications for jobless claims rose slightly last week but remain at healthy levels with companies reticent to let go of employees in a tight labor market.The number of Americans filing for jobless claims for the week ending May 20 rose by 4,000 to 229,000 from 225,000 the week before, the Labor Department reported Thursday. The previous week’s number was revised down by a significant 17,000.The weekly claims numbers are broadly as representative of the number of U.S. layoffs.The four-week moving average of claims, which evens out some of the week-to-week gyrations, was unchanged at 231,750 after the previous week’s number was revised down by 12,500. Analysts have pointed to a sustained increase in the four-week averages as a sign that layoffs are accelerating, but are reluctant to predict that a spike in layoffs is imminent. Overall, 1.8 million people were collecting unemployment benefits the week that ended May 13, about 5,000 more than the previous week.Since t...

US economic growth for last quarter is revised up to a still-tepid 1.3% annual rate

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:54:00 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. economy grew at a lackluster 1.3% annual rate from January through March as businesses wary of an economic slowdown trimmed their inventories, the government said Thursday, a slight upgrade from its initial estimate.The government had previously estimated that the economy grew at a 1.1% annual rate last quarter.The Commerce Department’s revised measure Thursday of growth in the nation’s gross domestic product — the economy’s total output of goods and services — marked a deceleration from the second half of 2022.Despite the first-quarter slowdown, consumer spending, which accounts for around 70% of America’s economic output, rose at a healthy pace.The steady weakening of economic growth is a consequence of the Federal Reserve’s aggressive drive to tame inflation, with 10 interest rate hikes over the past 14 months. Across the economy, the Fed’s rate increase have elevated the costs of auto loans, credit card borrowing and business loans.Wi...

Sherpa guide who climbed Mount Everest a record 28th time says he’s not ready to retire

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:54:00 GMT

KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — One of the greatest mountain guides said Thursday he’s not ready to retire after climbing Mount Everest for a record 28th time.Nepalese Sherpa Kami Rita reached the 8,849-meter (29,032-foot) summit of the world’s highest mountain on Tuesday, beating his own record less than a week after setting it.“I will continue to climb as long as my body allows,” the 53-year-old guide told reporters after arriving from the mountain at Kathmandu’s airport, where he was given a hero’s welcome by supporters and family members.He said his goal is not to compete for any records but to help his foreign clients scale the mountain.This year’s climbing season is almost over, and his next climb will have to wait until next spring.Kami Rita reached the summit a day after fellow Sherpa guide Pasang Dawa matched his previous record of 27 climbs.A race for the title began with Pasang Dawa climbing the peak for a 26th time on May 14, equaling Kami Rita’s earlier record...

Swedish online fashion retailer blocks 42,000 customers for returning too many purchased items

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:54:00 GMT

STOCKHOLM (AP) — Sweden-based online fashion retailer Bootz AB said Thursday it has blocked 42,000 customers for returning too many items they had purchased, calling their actions too costly for the company and the environment. Ask Kirkeskov Riis, a spokesman for the multi-brand e-commerce webstore selling clothes and beauty products online, said customers who where indefinitely blocked had sent back items either because they don’t fit or because they regretted the purchase.He said these customers “repeatedly exploit the high service levels of free shipping and returns at the expense of our business, other customers and the environment.”In an email to The Associated Press, he said they represented less than 2% of “the more than 3 million customers on Boozt” but around 25% of the total return volume. ”By pausing these accounts and reducing unnecessary returns, Boozt saved approximately 791 tons of CO2 in 2022 which has eliminated the need for approximately 600 delivery tr...

How do we fight the bigger, hotter wildfires of the future?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:54:00 GMT

In today’s Big Story podcast, in the last few weeks, “unprecedented” Canadian wildfires have been occurring due to the persistence of the conditions that allow our forests to burn. But we aren’t helpless.Whether it’s earlier detection, more accurate predictions, different management approaches, or ways to get boots on the ground faster, the way we fight fires is changing, and the playbook is being written in real-time.Dr. Mike Flannigan, a professor at Thompson Rivers University and BC Research Chair in Predictive Services, Emergency Management, and Fire Science, says that worsening wildfires are a hard reality we’ll need to contend with in the coming years.“We’re always going to have to learn to live with fire, unfortunately. But we try to minimize the damages done to society,” says Dr. Flannigan.Today’s Big Story covers what we’ve learned about wildfire management, and how we might keep the fires of the future from being as destructive as the ones we ...

Firewalkers in Greece honor Saint Constantine in mystery-shrouded, centuries-old rituals

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:54:00 GMT

LAGKADAS, Greece (AP) — Sotirios Gkaintatzis danced across burning coals, his stomping bare feet raising sparks and puffs of smoke as he held aloft an icon of Saints Constantine and Helen. Gkaintatzis is the leader of a group of anastenaria — the devotees of St. Constantine who celebrate these centuries-old rites in a smattering of small villages near Greece’s border with Bulgaria. Firewalking is the most spectacular and public of these annual rituals that include dancing, prayer, and shared meals in the konaki, a private dwelling where the icons are preserved for generations. “Dancing and firewalking is like communicating with the saints,” Gkaintatzis said through a translator before leading the solemn ceremony in the middle of a residential street in Lagkadas. “It cannot be translated into words. It’s all a matter of faith.” This year’s festival carried extra meaning for Gkaintatzis’ group. It was the first since his father — the group’s former leader — died last...