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How to watch the Quadrantids, the first meteor shower of the year

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:52:50 GMT

(CNN) — January kicks off with the Quadrantids, one of the quickest yet strongest meteor showers of the year.The shower is expected to peak overnight between January 3 and 4, according to the American Meteor Society. Sky-gazers in the Northern Hemisphere can best view the shower between the late-night hours of Wednesday and dawn on Thursday.Meteors are leftover pieces from broken asteroids and comet particles that spread out in dusty trails orbiting the sun. Each year, Earth passes through the debris trails, and pieces of dust and rock create colorful, fiery displays called meteor showers as they disintegrate in Earth’s atmosphere.The Quadrantid shower is notoriously hard to observe due to its brief peak of six hours. The peak has a limited duration compared with most meteor showers, which peak over two days, because the shower only has a thin stream of particles and Earth passes through the densest concentration of those particles quickly at a perpendicular angle, accordi...

Suncor reports 808,000 barrels per day of upstream production in fourth quarter

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:52:50 GMT

CALGARY — Suncor Energy Inc. says its upstream production in the fourth quarter was 808,000 barrels per day, the second highest quarter in the company’s history.The Calgary-based company says the performance for the last three months of the year resulted in annual average upstream production of 746,000 bbls/d for 2023.Suncor says net synthetic crude oil production was 476,000 bbls/d and net non-upgraded bitumen production was 282,000 bbls/d resulting in total oilsands production of 758,000 bbls/d for the quarter. Total production from its exploration and production operations was 50,000 bbls/d in the fourth quarter including production from the ramp up at Terra Nova.Suncor says its downstream operations posted average refining utilization of 97 per cent in the fourth quarter.The company is scheduled to release its fourth-quarter financial and operating results on Feb. 21.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 3, 2024.Companies in this story: (TSX:SU)The Can...

Curacao and St. Maarten to welcome new currency more than a decade after becoming autonomous

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:52:50 GMT

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — A new joint currency will be launched this year for the Dutch Caribbean islands of Curacao and St. Maarten more than a decade after they became autonomous countries within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, according to a recent bank report.The Caribbean guilder will replace the Netherlands-Antillean guilder as mandated by a regional constitutional reform in October 2010 that changed the political status of Curacao and St. Maarten.The currency will be introduced in the second half of 2024, according to an annual report that the Central Bank of Curacao and St. Maarten released late last year.The new currency will contain improved security features and will circulate alongside the current currency for three months after its introduction, the bank stated.Residents in both islands will be able to exchange the current Netherlands-Antillean guilder for the new currency for a period of 30 years at an equal rate.The Associated Press

Four children killed in a fire at a multifamily home in Connecticut

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:52:50 GMT

SOMERS, Conn. (AP) — Four children died Tuesday night in a fire that broke out in a two-family home in the northeastern Connecticut town of Somers.The children, ages 5, 6, 8 and 12, were found inside the house where 11 people lived, fire and town officials said.The fire broke out at about 10:30 p.m. and by the time fire crews arrived, flames were showing from windows in both the first and second floors, town Fire Chief John Roache said. At least one person jumped from a window to escape the blaze. Roache said fire crews had a difficult time getting inside the home because a back entrance was blocked and flames prevented entry through the front door. Roache said several other victims were taken to local hospitals. It was not clear Wednesday how many people were in the house at the time of the fire, how many were injured or the extent of those injuries.“It’s a tremendous loss for the town,” first selectman Tim Keeney told reporters on the scene Wednesday morning. “An incredible loss, ...

Ballard Power Systems signs new long-term supply deal with NFI

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:52:50 GMT

VANCOUVER — Ballard Power Systems has signed a new long-term supply agreement with bus maker NFI Group Inc. The Vancouver-based fuel cell company says the deal marks a new phase in its partnership with NFI.It also says the Winnipeg-based company has placed its first order under the agreement for a minimum of 100 fuel cell modules for planned delivery this year.The modules will primarily be produced in Ballard’s facility in Bend, Ore. They will be used in New Flyer’s Xcelsior CHARGE FC hydrogen fuel cell buses that will be deployed in North America.Ballard chief commercial officer David Mucciacciaro says the company believes NFI subsidiary New Flyer is well positioned to deliver deployment scale volumes of fuel cell buses, particularly in the U.S. market.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 3, 2024.Companies in this story: (TSX:BLDP, TSX:NFI)The Canadian Press

Iran says at least 103 people killed, dozens wounded in blasts at ceremony honouring slain general

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:52:50 GMT

Two explosions minutes apart Wednesday in Iran targeted a commemoration for a prominent general slain in a U.S. drone strike in 2020, killing at least 103 people and wounding at least 141 others as the Middle East remains on edge over Israel’s war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip.No group immediately claimed responsibility for what Iranian state media called a “terroristic” attack shortly after the blasts in Kerman, about 820 kilometers (510 miles) southeast of the capital, Tehran.While Israel has carried out attacks in Iran over its nuclear program, it has conducted targeted assassinations, not mass-casualty bombings. Sunni extremist groups including the Islamic State group have conducted large-scale attacks in the past that killed civilians in Shiite-majority Iran, though not in relatively peaceful Kerman.Iran also has seen mass protests in recent years, including those over the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in 2022. The country also has been targeted by exile group...

Some Chicago area hospitals requiring masks again as respiratory infections rising

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:52:50 GMT

CHICAGO — Some Chicago area hospitals and other facilities are returning their mask mandates as respiratory infections are on the rise.Rush is one provider that is requiring masks in certain areas as the threat from COVID-19, flu and respiratory viruses are rising.The new mandates will apply to patients, staff and visitors at Rush Medical Center, Rush Oak Park Hospital and Rush Copley.Hospitals are looking to get out in front of the growing risk of transmission.Most hospitals eased or eliminated their masking requirements last spring, after the federal government ended the COVID-19 public health emergency. Some hospitals reinstating mask requirements amid rise in COVID-19 As present, Chicago, the rest of Cook County, DuPage, McHenry and Lake counties are all at "medium risk level."

Hickory Hills man accused of molesting Northwest Indiana girl

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:52:50 GMT

PORTAGE, Ind. — A suburban man is facing multiple charges of child molestation after allegedly sexually abusing a 12-year-old Portage girl.Portage police began an investigation in late October after the victim disclosed to a counselor about the alleged abuse.Joe Benavente, 23, of Hickory Hills, was booked into the Porter County Jail on Thursday following the investigation.Police believe Benavente picked the girl up near her home on July 27 and he allegedly sexually molested her. The two communicated on Snapchat prior to the incident, according to police documents.On Aug. 10, Benavente allegedly picked her up and took her to a motel on US Route 20. He handed her a COVID-19 face mask and said "you should wear this when we go in so no one sees," documents allege.Detectives obtained data from Snapchat and the Benavente's photo was picked out of a lineup by the alleged victim. Woman in toll road crash struck, killed by alleged intoxicated driver in Northwest Indiana An arrest warrant w...

Souvenir sellers flooded the Brooklyn Bridge. Now the city is banning them

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:52:50 GMT

NEW YORK (WPIX) - Visitors to New York City hoping to take home a souvenir from the Brooklyn Bridge will now have to settle for a photograph, as vendors are about to be banned from the iconic spot.The new rule, which goes into effect Wednesday, aims to ease overcrowding on the bridge’s heavily trafficked pedestrian walkway, where dozens of trinket sellers currently compete for space with tourists and city commuters.As crowds flocked to the bridge over the holiday season, the situation turned dangerous, according to New York City Mayor Eric Adams. Adams said Tuesday that the number of legal and illegal vendors on the pedestrian walkway on the Brooklyn Bridge is "not only a sanitary issue, it's a public safety issue." Tourist flights over national parks face new rules. None are stricter than at Mount Rushmore Christine Lazzara, a personal tour guide with "Just Ask Christine," took videos last weekend that show a packed group of people climbing down from the pedestrian walkway onto t...

AG Paxton says home was target of 'swatting' incident on New Year's Day

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:52:50 GMT

MCKINNEY, Texas (KXAN) -- Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said his home in McKinney was the target of a "swatting" incident on New Year's Day. Paxton said on social media someone made a false report to 911 describing a life-threatening situation at his home in McKinney. According to Paxton, the McKinney police and fire departments responded to the home. Paxton and his wife, Sen. Angela Paxton, were not home at the time, and Paxton said they were notified of the false report when a state trooper, who was contacted by McKinney police, informed them of the incident. What is "swatting"? The Associated Press reported the goal of these types of false threats is to get authorities, particularly a SWAT team, to respond to a certain address. AP also said some of the cases use caller ID spoofing to disguise their number.Making false reports to 911 is a crime which should be vigorously prosecuted when this criminal is identified. These fake calls divert resources from actual emergencies and ...