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Pope Francis arrives in Portugal for a 5-day visit to attend World Youth Day

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:38:38 GMT

LISBON, Portugal (AP) — Pope Francis arrives in Portugal for a 5-day visit to attend World Youth Day.Source

Why are gas prices rising in the DC area?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:38:38 GMT

You may have noticed you’re paying more to fill up the tank in recent days.In Montgomery County, WTOP’s Anne Kramer photographed regular unleaded listed at $4.19 at a Shell station in Kensington, Maryland, on the evening of July 31, noting it had been 10 cents cheaper just that morning.Maryland is trending higher than the national average, which is $3.75 a gallon, by about a penny.According to Tom Kloza, global head of energy analysis with Oil Price Information Service (OPIS), it’s an international matter of supply and demand.“The OPEC+ cartel has cut crude oil, and we’re probably using about 2 million barrels a day — more crude oil than we’re producing here in the month of July. And that’s going to continue probably through the summer,” Kloza told WTOP. “On the other hand, demand isn’t necessarily near where it was at the peak levels in 2019 and similar years.”Still, the price hike comes at a time of high car travel ...

GW Parkway set to reopen, cleanup nearly complete following Saturday’s storm

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:38:38 GMT

Listen live to WTOP for the latest on storm damage and outages.The D.C. region continues to recover after Saturday’s severe storm ripped through the area, toppling trees and knocking out power for thousands across the area. Here’s what you need to know.Traffic Impact: The George Washington Memorial Parkway is set to reopen between 5 and 6 a.m. Wednesday after work crews cleared more than 500 tons of trees, branches and other debris after Saturday’s severe storm ripped through the area.Current Outages: As of Wednesday morning, the number of customers without power continued to dwindle as power companies work to restore electricity to residences. In Prince George’s County, Maryland, over 500 users are still in the dark.GW Parkway cleanupThe southbound lanes of the George Washington Memorial Parkway are expected to reopen later Wednesday morning, according to 7News who spoke with the National Park Service.Part of the George Washington Memorial Parkway reopened Tuesday...

‘Have a community that fights for each other’: Md. Gov. Moore joins residents at National Night Out event

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:38:38 GMT

Across the D.C. region and nationwide, communities came together for National Night Out on Tuesday night. It’s an event aimed at making communities safer and stronger through togetherness.Those attending the New Carrollton, Maryland, event, got a chance to get to know Gov. Wes Moore and first lady Dawn Moore, who spent over an hour meeting and greeting residents.“This is what makes community so special is that everyone’s out here together, that we’re out celebrating, we’re getting to know each other,” Gov. Moore said.At the event held at Beckett Field, first responders, city officials, community groups and residents started up conversations. Law enforcement officers played ball and posed for pictures with children. At the U.S. Marshall tent, kids got to try on the vest Marshalls wear every day.Moore said having everyone come together at community building events like this is important, especially when it comes to police and residents getting to interact.“It isnR...

Marina Hegering recovers in time to play for Germany in last group game of Women’s World Cup

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:38:38 GMT

AUCKLAND, New Zealand (AP) — Marina Hegering is fit to play for Germany against South Korea in a Group H finale that the Germans are treating as a must-win Women’s World Cup game. The defender missed Germany’s opening 6-0 victory over Morocco, as well as the shocking 2-1 loss to Colombia with an ankle injury. Germany is ranked second in the world and has never failed to advance out of group play at the World Cup. A ninth trip to the knockout round would be guaranteed Thursday with a win over South Korea in Brisbane, Australia. A draw would also be sufficient for the Germans unless Morocco upsets Colombia in Perth, Western Australia.The Germans need Hegering because defender Sara Doorsoun, who started the first two matches, injured her thigh in the loss to Colombia and has been ruled out for the group finale. “It means a lot to us because as soon as Marina is in training and able to perform properly, that’s fantastic value for our team,” coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg sai...

Candelario leads Cubs against the Reds following 4-hit game

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:38:38 GMT

Cincinnati Reds (59-50, first in the NL Central) vs. Chicago Cubs (54-53, third in the NL Central)Chicago; Wednesday, 8:05 p.m. EDTPITCHING PROBABLES: Reds: Brandon Williamson (3-2, 4.34 ERA, 1.34 WHIP, 48 strikeouts); Cubs: Drew Smyly (8-7, 4.75 ERA, 1.35 WHIP, 97 strikeouts)FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK MLB LINE: Cubs -137, Reds +117; over/under is 9 1/2 runsBOTTOM LINE: The Chicago Cubs take on the Cincinnati Reds after Jeimer Candelario had four hits on Tuesday in a 20-9 win over the Reds.Chicago is 54-53 overall and 28-27 in home games. The Cubs have gone 30-18 in games when they did not give up a home run.Cincinnati is 31-24 in road games and 59-50 overall. Reds hitters have a collective .331 on-base percentage, the fourth-ranked percentage in the NL.Wednesday’s game is the eighth meeting between these teams this season. The Reds have a 5-2 advantage in the season series.TOP PERFORMERS: Nico Hoerner has 20 doubles, four triples and eight home runs for the Cubs. Yan Gomes is 14-for-...

Massive fire burning in California and Nevada is spawning dangerous ‘fire whirls’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:38:38 GMT

(CNN) — A massive fire burning across both California and Nevada is generating extreme fire behavior, spawning “fire whirls” and creating dangerous conditions for firefighters, authorities said.The fire, dubbed the York Fire, which is California’s largest fire of the year, has consumed 80,000 acres as of Tuesday morning. The blaze began Friday in the New York Mountain Range of California’s Mojave National Preserve and crossed state lines into Nevada Sunday as winds picked up under scorching temperatures.Firefighters were able to gain some control of the fire Monday night and by Tuesday morning the York Fire was 23% contained.“An infrared flight was completed last night, which provided a better assessment of fire size and activity,” the National Parks Service said on Tuesday.The blaze is among dozens of wildfires burning around the country as some areas swelter under unrelenting heat – including one fire raging on both sides of the US-Canadian border.The fire on the California-Nevada...

Estate of Henrietta Lacks reaches settlement with biotech company for nonconsensual use of her cells in medical research

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:38:38 GMT

(CNN) — The family of Henrietta Lacks, a Black woman whose cells have been used for scientific research for decades, reached a settlement Tuesday with the biotech company Thermo Fisher Scientific, the family’s attorneys said.Lacks’ family filed a federal lawsuit in 2021 against the company, arguing it is knowingly profiting from Lacks’ tissue sample and cell line.In 1951, Lacks was diagnosed with cervical cancer and had tissue taken from her cervix without her consent during a procedure at The Johns Hopkins Hospital. Lacks died later that year from the cancer at the age of 31.The sample was later used to create a human cell line that can reproduce itself outside of the body, which is now known as HeLa cells.The cells have been used to develop the polio vaccine, in vitro fertilization, gene mapping, advancements in cancer treatment, AIDS research, cloning and stem cell studies, CNN previously reported.The family and the company reached a “confidential settlement” outside the court, t...

Rishi Sunak: My daughters aren’t eco-zealots

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:38:38 GMT

LONDON — Rishi Sunak’s daughters might be climate-conscious — but they aren’t “eco-zealots,” the British prime minister insisted Wednesday.Sunak used an LBC radio phone-in to mount a defense of his government’s decision to this week green-light hundreds of new oil and gas licenses in the North Sea, amid a backlash from environmental campaigners warning it flies in the face of a promise to reduce the U.K.’s carbon emissions to net-zero by 2050.Asked if he is confident he can win over his young daughters — who the PM has previously said push him on environmental issues — Sunak said the pair were open to “sensible, practical arguments.”“I think on this topic, like most people they don’t approach it as some kind of — they’re not eco-zealots. They actually, I think, are open to sensible, practical arguments,” he said. “We have good chat around our table about all these things.”Outside of his family, the p...

Greek PM offers free holidays to tourists as wildfire compensation

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:38:38 GMT

Greece will grant tourists whose vacation was interrupted by the wildfires which devastated Rhodes a one-week free holiday, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said Wednesday.“For all of those whose holidays were cut short as a result of the wildfires, the Greek government, in cooperation with the local authorities, will offer one week of free holidays on Rhodes next spring or next fall,” Mitsotakis told British broadcaster ITV, adding the island was now “back to normal.”Around 20,000 people, including thousands of British tourists, were evacuated from Rhodes in recent weeks after wildfires burned through around ten percent of the island’s land area.A favored holiday destination, Greece is heavily reliant on tourism, which accounts for a quarter of its GDP.