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Orsted puts up $100M guarantee that it will build New Jersey’s first offshore wind farm by 2025

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:40:54 GMT

OCEAN CITY, N.J. (AP) — The Danish wind energy company Orsted has put up a $100 million guarantee that it will build New Jersey’s first offshore wind farm.But it will lose that money if the project is not operating by Dec. 2025 — a year after the deadline approved by state utility regulators.New Jersey’s Board of Public Utilities approved an agreement Wednesday with Orsted under which the company would forfeit the money if the project is not up and running within 12 months of a series of deadlines previously ordered by the board.Those deadlines call for the project to reach commercial operation in stages by May 1, Sept. 1 and Dec. 1, 2024. But it would forfeit the guarantee money if the project is not operational by December 2025.The money put up on Oct. 4 by Orsted and placed in an escrow account was required under the terms of a law Gov. Phil Murphy signed in July allowing Orsted to keep federal tax credits that it otherwise would have had to return to New Jersey ratep...

Playwright Theresa Rebeck is busy in NYC this fall, with plays uptown and on Broadway

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:40:54 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — If you’re ever tempted to offer playwright Theresa Rebeck an idea for a new play, maybe hold off. She has quite enough of those as it is. “A play is like a license to explore things that my curiosity is really piqued by. I have a lot of curiosity,” she says. “I have a lot of things on my mind and a lot of curiosity.” This fall, New York City has become Rebeck’s playwriting playground. She’s directing her own work “Dig” at 59E59 Theaters, and her “I Need That” has landed on Broadway starring Danny DeVito and his daughter Lucy.“I Need That” is Rebeck’s 21st professional production in New York and her fifth on Broadway, making her easily the most-produced female playwright of her generation on Broadway.“A friend of mine said to me one time, ‘Well, there’s no question the muse is with you.’ And I thought, ‘That’s an interesting way to put it,’” says Rebeck, laughing.“Dig” opened just before rehearsals began in earnest for “I Need That” a doz...

Pennsylvania counties tell governor, lawmakers it’s too late to move 2024’s primary election date

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:40:54 GMT

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Counties in Pennsylvania have told Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro and lawmakers that it is too late to move up the state’s 2024 presidential primary date if counties are to successfully administer the election.In a letter, the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania said there is no longer enough time for counties to handle the tasks associated with moving next year’s primary election from the current date set in law, April 23.The counties’ association drafted the letter after weeks of efforts by lawmakers to move up the primary date, in part to avoid a conflict with the Jewish holiday of Passover. That became embroiled in partisan and intraparty disagreements after Senate Republicans then touted moving up the date as a way to give the late primary state more say in deciding 2024’s presidential nominees.County officials say they are planning for 2023’s election, less than five weeks away, and already spent many months of pl...

Five officers shot and wounded in Minnesota confrontation, authorities say; suspect arrested

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:40:54 GMT

Police lights are seen in this stock photo.(Getty Images/iStockphoto/welcomia) Police lights are seen in this stock photo.(Getty Images/iStockphoto/welcomia) PRINCETON, Minn. (AP) — Five drug task force officers were shot and wounded Thursday while serving a search warrant near the Minnesota city of Princeton, authorities said. The suspect was arrested after a standoff that lasted several hours.A news release from Benton County Sheriff Troy Heck said the officers exchanged gunfire with the suspect when they were confronted by the man, who was injured in the incident and was taken away for treatment after his arrest. The cause and extent of his injuries were not immediately known, the sheriff said.The officers̵...

TikTok and content creators challenging Montana’s ban face off with the state in federal court

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:40:54 GMT

MISSOULA, Mont. (AP) — TikTok and Montana faced off in federal court on Thursday in a case filed by the video sharing app and five Montana content creators who want the court to temporarily block the state’s ban on the platform before it takes effect Jan. 1. Attorneys for TikTok and the content creators argued that the state has gone “completely overboard” in trying to regulate TikTok and is essentially trying to implement its own foreign policy over unproven concerns that TikTok might share user data with the Chinese government. Christian Corrigan, the state’s solicitor general, said Montana’s law was less a statement of foreign policy and rather addresses “serious, widespread concerns about data privacy.”U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy said he would rule on the motion for a preliminary injunction as quickly as possible.In May, Montana became the first state in the U.S. to pass a complete ban on the app, based on the argument that the Chinese government could gain access to user ...

‘Ready to hit the ground running’: Caps goalie more comfortable in 2nd year in Washington

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:40:54 GMT

“Do your job.”This simple phrase has become the mantra of the Washington Commanders’ season, with head coach Ron Rivera taking a page out of Ted Lasso’s book and hanging a sign reading “DO YOUR JOB.” inside the team’s locker room.But could it be the motto for the Washington Capitals, too?As the Caps prepare to start their season against the Pittsburgh Penguins Friday night, goalie Darcy Kuemper said the message carries over to the ice.“I think there’s a lot of wisdom behind that,” he said during an interview on WTOP Thursday. “It takes a full team to go out and win, but for that to be possible, each player has to do their part and I think that’s what they’re trying to get at with that.”Going into his second season in Washington, Kuemper said he feels like he’s able to better focus on doing his job. The 32-year-old netminder signed a five-year deal with Washington as a free agent ahead of last y...

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to visit Israel on Friday to show support, discuss military aid after Hamas attack

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:40:54 GMT

BRUSSELS (AP) — US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to visit Israel on Friday to show support, discuss military aid after Hamas attack.Source

NFL appeal in Jon Gruden emails lawsuit gets Nevada Supreme Court hearing date

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:40:54 GMT

LAS VEGAS (AP) — The Nevada Supreme Court plans to soon hear the NFL’s appeal of a ruling denying a request to move former Las Vegas Raiders coach Jon Gruden’s lawsuit against the league from a public courtroom into closed-door arbitration. The lawsuit, filed in November 2021, accuses the NFL and Commissioner Roger Goodell of a “malicious and orchestrated campaign” to force Gruden to resign as the Raiders’ head coach by leaking racist, sexist and homophobic emails that no one disputes Gruden sent.The court posted a notice Wednesday scheduling oral arguments on Nov. 7 in Las Vegas.Attorneys for Gruden, the NFL and Goodell and a league representative did not respond to email messages Thursday about the hearing.The league wants the state high court to reverse a state court judge’s decisions in May 2022 not to dismiss Gruden’s lawsuit outright or order out-of-court talks that could be overseen by Goodell.Gruden’s emails went to former Washington Commanders executive Br...

US and Qatar agree to prevent disbursal of recently unfrozen Iranian funds as Israel-Hamas war rages

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:40:54 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. and Qatar have reached an agreement that the Qataris will not act on any request from Tehran for the time being to access $6 billion in Iranian funds that were unblocked as part of a prisoner swap last month, a U.S. official said Thursday.The move, which stops short of a full refreezing of Iranian funds in Qatar’s banking system, follows the deadly attacks by Hamas on Israel and continued Republican criticism of the Biden administration’s deal with Iran, in which $6 billion was unfrozen in exchange for the release of five detained Americans. The official who outlined the understanding between the U.S. and Qatar was not authorized to comment and spoke on condition of anonymity.U.S. officials have strenuously pushed back against the criticism, noting that the money had yet to be spent by Iran and can only be used for humanitarian needs.“None of the funds that have now gone to Qatar have actually been spent or accessed in any way by Iran,” Secretary of ...

A woman accused of killing an elite cyclist attempted to escape custody, sheriff’s office says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:40:54 GMT

(CNN) — The woman who authorities say fled to Costa Rica and was missing for more than a month after allegedly killing an elite professional cyclist in Texas attempted to escape custody on Wednesday, authorities said.Kaitlin Marie Armstrong is accused of fatally shooting Anna Moriah “Mo” Wilson at an Austin home in May 2022 and was captured in Costa Rica on June 29, 2022, authorities said. She was deported to the US days later to face a first-degree murder charge according to the US Marshals Office. She has pleaded not guilty.On Wednesday morning, Armstrong was taken to a doctor’s appointment by corrections staff in Texas, a spokesperson with the Travis County Sheriff’s Office told CNN.“As she and two corrections officers were exiting the medical building after the appointment, Armstrong ran,” spokesperson Drew Knight said. “The officers pursued her on foot for approximately 10 minutes without ever losing sight of her.”Armstrong was captured and taken to a local hospital, Knight sai...