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$1.6B trial starts against utility over fatal 2020 wildfires

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:19 GMT

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A trial connected to a $1.6 billion class action lawsuit against utility PacifiCorp over the catastrophic Labor Day 2020 wildfires in Oregon started Tuesday in Portland.The fires in 2020 killed nine people, burned more than 1,875 square miles (4,856 square kilometers) in Oregon and destroyed upward of 5,000 homes and structures. PacifiCorp is the primary defendant in litigation stemming from the fires, The Oregonian/OregonLive reported.The Portland-based utility, Oregon’s second largest, didn’t shut off power to its 600,000 customers during the windstorm. Its lines have been implicated in multiple blazes, one of which started in its California service territory and burned into Oregon.Jurors in the Multnomah County trial will determine PacifiCorp’s responsibility, if any, in four of those blazes: the Santiam Canyon fires east of Salem; the Echo Mountain Complex near Lincoln City; the South Obenchain fire near Eagle Point; and the Two Four Two fire near the south...

Trouble looms for Indian grain that combats climate change

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:19 GMT

KOCHI, India (AP) — On a tiny sliver land in southern India, the future of an ancient grain that helps combat climate change is in doubt.An ongoing tussle in Chellanam village, a suburb of the bustling city of Kochi, which has the Arabian Sea on one side and estuaries on the other, could decide the fate of the cultivation of pokkali rice.In many wetlands in the area, farmers have traditionally dedicated half the year to pokkali rice and the other six months to prawns. In 2022, the Fisheries Department of Kerala issued an order that farmers no longer needed to dedicate part of the year to pokkali, exacerbating a trend away from pokkali already under way. While prawns fetch more money than pokkali, a focus on them is upending a delicate ecosystem, making it difficult for farmers who want to continue with pokkali, environmental experts say. M.M. Chandu, a 78-year-old farmer with about 0.8 hectares (a little over 2 acres), said that increasing salinity in the land from year-round prawn ...

Venezuela’s Juan Guaidó not seeking political asylum in US

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:19 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó on Tuesday said he is not seeking political asylum in the United States and has not ruled out the possibility of running in a presidential primary in his homeland planned for October.Guaidó spoke to The Associated Press by phone from Miami, where he arrived on a commercial flight that departed Colombia’s capital Monday night, hours after he crossed the border between that country and Venezuela with the intent of meeting with diplomats and other participants of an international conference focused on Venezuela’s political crisis.“I will have work meetings and obviously also time to assess the security situation among other things,” he said. “I am not requesting political asylum at this time.”His remarks came after Colombian authorities said he was subject to an administrative process for having crossed the border without getting his passport stamped upon entry. Colombian President Gustavo Petro insisted Guaidó was not deporte...

Highland Park parents demand tougher school safety measures

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:19 GMT

HIGHLAND PARK, Ill. -- A gun was brought to Highland Park High School twice in less than two weeks and now, parents want answers.Parents in Highland Park are demanding that District 113, which represents Highland Park and Deerfield High Schools, install metal detectors in those schools.This comes after a student brought a gun to Highland Park High School earlier this month and sent the school into lockdown. Frightening fellow classmates who were locked in their classrooms and their families. Rosati’s Pizza franchisees to pay $250K in back wages, damages to employees The district has armed school resource officers by adding six this school year.Also new this year is a system that requires students to scan in every day and that system would flag a student who's not supposed to be there. But some parents say that's not enough of a deterrent to prevent a tragedy.The school said comparable districts like Glenbrook, Evanston, New Trier, among others, don't have metal detectors. Some mem...

Mexican authorities find 8 bodies in Cancun

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:19 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Authorities in Cancun, Mexico said Tuesday they are trying to identify eight bodies found dumped in the popular tourist region.Speaking to families of missing people, Oscar Montes de Oca, the head prosecutor of the Caribbean coast state of Quintana Roo pledged to carry out more searches and identifications.The bodies were found in searches over the weekend in which police looked in wooded lots and even sinkhole ponds known as cenotes. ‘Disruptive’ passenger forces Israel-bound United flight back to Newark after 3 hours More than 112,000 people are listed as missing in Mexico, and searches for clandestine grave sites have become common throughout the country. What is unusual is that they are now being carried out in Cancun, the crown jewel of Mexico’s tourism industry.The clandestine body dumping grounds are often used by drug cartels to dispose of bodies of their victims. Several cartels are fighting for control of the Caribbean coast and its lucrative retail dr...

'I don't feel comfortable': Elgin ISD parents have safety concerns after fight, district says no weapons involved

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:19 GMT

ELGIN, Texas (KXAN) - Tuesday night, Elgin ISD insisted it was telling the truth about recent fights and threats. This is after parents of Elgin High School students said they saw a video of a fight at school and heard a knife was used. PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Elgin ISD officials investigating Monday ‘altercation’ at high school Elgin ISD claimed there was no weapon. In a letter, the district also explained that reports of a gun at school Monday and Tuesday were not true. 'Don't feel comfortable sending her to school'Several parents are still concerned about school safety given these recent incidents. One of those parents is Leiandra Yenes. "I don't feel comfortable sending her to school," Yenes said. She said on Monday her daughter, a sophomore at the high school, texted her that the fire alarms went off and that there was a fight at school where somebody was stabbed. Then, again on Tuesday there was another situation. "My mother actually was going home from an appointment, Yenes sai...

Officials: Parents arrested after 'forcefully' tattooing their children

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:19 GMT

ANGELINA COUNTY, Texas (KETK) – Two Texas parents were arrested and were accused of tattooing their children by force, then tried to remove the tattoos once Child Protective Services (CPS) became involved, according to Lt. James Denby with the Zavalla Police Department.Denby said on April 17, police were notified by CPS about parents tattooing their children and asked for Angelina County officials to be present when they went to the residence where the crime was taking place. During the visit the next day, April 18, two children ages 5 and 9 years old were taken into CPS custody. Facebook privacy settlement: Who is eligible for a payment? During the investigation, Denby said the stepfather of the children, Gunner Farr, and mother, Megan Farr, were "forcefully restraining" the kids in order to give them the homemade tattoos. After more information became available, Denby said there were visible injuries to the children showing the parents tried to remove the tattoos once they found...

With 6-2 win, Twins lock down first season series victory over Yankees since 2001

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:19 GMT

Byron Buxton and Trevor Larnach traded two-run home runs in a four-run sixth inning, and Joe Ryan became the first Twins pitcher since 1979 to start a season with a 5-0 record as the Twins beat the New York Yankees, 6-2, in front of 19,201 on Tuesday at Target Field.With the victory, the Twins sealed their first season series win over the Yankees since 2001. Minnesota has won the first two games of this three-game series, and the Twins split a four-game series in New York from April 13-16.The win also assures Minnesota of its first series victory over the Yankees since they took two of three games Sept. 10-12, 2018.Buxton’s two-run shot to left chased Yankees starter Nestor Cortes with no outs in the sixth, scoring Jorge Polanco after a leadoff double to break a 2-2 tie. It was Buxton’s fourth home run of the season and came on a full count.The Yankees brought in right-hander Ron Marinaccio, who struck out Jose Miranda and allowed an infield single by Ryan Jeffers. Larnach then laun...

Schenectady woman arrested for abandoning dog

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:19 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- An arrest has been made in an animal abuse case in Albany. Rachel Gibson, 33, of Schenectady, is accused of abandoning a dog in the Pine Bush Preserve on April 13. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! Police said a female Pit Bull mix was found tied to a tree without food or water while temperatures were in the high 80s. Gibson is accused of driving to Albany and directing a teenaged girl to tie the dog to the tree. There was another young girl in the car at the time, police said.Gibson was charged with one count of Animal Cruelty, one count of Abandonment of Animals, and one count of Endangering the Welfare of a Child.The dog was taken to the Mohawk Hudson Humane Society where she is healthy and doing well.

Schenectady Police Task Force will investigate non-fatal shootings

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:19 GMT

SCHENECTADY, N.Y. (WTEN) —The City of Schenectady is slated to get a round of funding from the state to help with shooting investigations and keep guns out of the community.Schenectady City Council’s Public Safety Committee recently approved a state grant worth over $150,000 to help fund a police task force investigating non-fatal shootings.  City Council President Marion Porterfield says it’s money that can be put to good use. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! “We really, really support the initiative,” she said. “And anything that can help create more public safety in our community is something that we all welcome.”The funding is a part of the Governor’s plan to reduce gun violence, but the money from the state is expected to run out at the end of June. Police say they’ve already started to incorporate new technology to solve cases.“Investigate these non-fatal shootings as proactively as possible,” Sergeant Jeffrey Mccutche...