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Just two of 15 wild geese found trapped in Los Angeles tar pits have survived

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:38:51 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Only two of a flock of 15 wild Canada geese that landed and became trapped in the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles in late July have survived after they were rescued and cleaned off. Los Angeles Animal Services extricated the birds from the pits on July 31. More than half had died, but the seven that were still alive were given to International Bird Rescue, a nonprofit that specializes in rescuing and rehabilitating birds from oil spills. Of those, only two survived between transportation and rehabilitation operations. After three washes for both and a chest graft for one, the two birds are on a steady track to healing. If all goes well, they will be released into the wild in about a month. “It’s heartbreaking to see accidents like this occur,” said JD Bergeron, CEO of International Bird Rescue, in a news release. “Birds in a changing world face dwindling natural habitat and lack of habitat is a big problem for the wild animals that call Los Angeles home. It is nat...

Former Northwestern athletes send letter defending school’s athletic culture

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:38:51 GMT

EVANSTON, Ill. (AP) — Approximately 1,000 former Northwestern University athletes sent a letter condemning hazing while defending the school’s culture, saying allegations of abuse within the football program and other men’s and women’s teams do not reflect their experiences.“We strongly condemn hazing in any form and firmly believe it has no place in collegiate sports or, for that matter, in university life, period,” the letter obtained by The Associated Press on Thursday reads. “The allegations being made are troubling and we support the University’s efforts to fully investigate these claims. However, these allegations do not represent or define the overall athletics culture at Northwestern.”Northwestern is facing more than a dozen lawsuits across multiple sports with allegations including sexual abuse of players by teammates as well as racist comments by coaches and race-based assaults. Football coach Pat Fitzgerald was fired last month after 17 seasons. Baseball...

Stock market today: Wall Street slumps again as higher bond yields keep biting

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:38:51 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street is falling for a third straight day Thursday as rising yields in the bond market keep cranking up the pressure.The S&P 500 was 0.8% lower in late trading, with August on track to be its worst month of the year by far. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 306 points, or 0.9%, at 34,458, as of 3:25 p.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 1.2% lower.The losses were widespread. Some of the heaviest hit big technology stocks seen as the most vulnerable to higher interest rates. Apple fell 1.6% and was the heaviest weight on the S&P 500. Meta Platforms sank 2.7%, and Tesla dropped 2.5%.Stocks broadly have been retreating in August following a torrid first seven months of the year. That’s in part because a swift rise in bond yields is forcing a reassessment of how much to pay for stocks.The 10-year Treasury, which is the centerpiece of the bond market, is now yielding 4.29% after earlier in the morning touching its highest level since Octobe...

A Brazilian hacker claims Bolsonaro asked him to hack into the voting system ahead of 2022 vote

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:38:51 GMT

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — A Brazilian hacker claimed at a Congressional hearing on Thursday that former President Jair Bolsonaro wanted him to hack into the country’s electronic voting system to expose its alleged weaknesses ahead of the 2022 presidential election.Walter Delgatti Neto did not provide any evidence for his claim to the parliamentary commission of inquiry. But his detailed testimony raises new allegations against the former far-right leader, investigated for his role in the Jan. 8 riots in the capital city of Brasilia.Delgatti also told lawmakers that he met in person with Bolsonaro and told the former president it was not possible for him to hack the electronic voting system. The Associated Press has reached out to Bolsonaro’s lawyers who have not yet responded. Bolsonaro has denied any wrongdoings. Bolsonaro’s political nemesis, leftist Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, won the Oct. 30, 2022 election with just 50.9% of the votes.According to Delgatti, Bolsonaro had wanted...

China’s defense minister promises to boost cooperation with Russian ally Belarus

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:38:51 GMT

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu on Thursday visited Belarus and said his country would increase military cooperation with Russia’s neighbor and ally, where Moscow is deploying tactical nuclear weapons.Shangfu met with strongman President Alexander Lukashenko in Minsk and said “the purpose of my visit to Belarus is precisely the implementation of important agreements at the level of heads of state and the further strengthening of bilateral military cooperation.”Neither side gave details of what the cooperation will entail, but the two countries have agreed to hold joint military exercises next year.Li visited Russia just before going to Belarus.Russian troops that were deployed in Belarus were part of Russia’s invading force in Ukraine and Russian troops and weapons remain there.Belarusian forces have not taken part in the Ukraine war and Lukashenko on Thursday said China’s military assistance would not be directed against third countries. Lukashenko has p...

Ecuadorians vote Sunday for president after a campaign dominated by demands for safety

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:38:51 GMT

GUAYAQUIL, Ecuador (AP) — Ecuadorians will choose a new president Sunday, less than two weeks after the South American country was shaken by the assassination of one of the candidates — a crime that laid bare people’s fears over unprecedented violence in their once-calm nation.The winner faces a universal demand for safety, but how the incoming administration will fund crime-fighting promises remains to be seen. Much of the country’s increasingly polarized society yearns for the prosperity seen under the presidency of Rafael Correa, now a fugitive from Ecuadorian justice, but few readily acknowledge it left the country with a huge fiscal deficit and billions in debt.Sunday’s ballot has the names of eight candidates, including Fernando Villavicencio, the anti-corruption crusader who was killed Aug. 9 while leaving a campaign rally in Quito, the capital. His was the third and most prominent in a string of killings of political leaders this year.Voting in Ecuador is mandato...

Utah man shot by FBI brandished gun and frightened Google Fiber subcontractors in 2018, man says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:38:51 GMT

PROVO, Utah (AP) — Five years before a Utah man was killed by authorities trying to arrest him on charges including threatening to assassinate President Joe Biden, he threatened and pointed a gun at utility workers who he thought were on his property.Caiden Taylor, who was then working as a Google Fiber subcontractor, told KSL-TV he feared for his life during the August 2018 encounter outside Craig Robertson’s home in Provo, Utah.“I was just there to do a job,” Taylor said. A Provo police incident report describes how Taylor and another worker rang Robertson’s doorbell to tell him they planned to access the utlity pole via a public easement through his backyard. They proceeded to set up their equipment after getting no answer until Robertson came into the backyard waving a handgun at them, accusing them of trespass. They told the police that Robertson had pointed a gun at them — a charge he later denied to officers.“I was actually up on the power pole with a whole spool ...

Pacific Salmon Commission raises forecast for B.C. Fraser River pink salmon run

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:38:51 GMT

VICTORIA — The run of pink salmon in British Columbia’s Fraser River is exceeding expectations this summer.The Pacific Salmon Commission is increasing its projections of pink salmon returns to possibly 11.6 million, up from an estimate of between 6.1 million and 8.6 million fish. The commission, which was formed by the governments of Canada and the United States in 1985 to implement the Pacific Salmon Treaty, says the increase is based on the “abundance” of pink salmon being caught in marine test fisheries in B.C. coastal waters.Environmentalists and Indigenous leaders suggest the larger-than-forecast returns are linked to the closure of open-net Atlantic salmon farms off the Discovery Islands on the pink salmon migration routes.The salmon commission says it could not comment on those suggestions and no one from Fisheries and Oceans Canada was immediately available. Open-net fish farms off B.C.’s coast are a long-running subject of debate, with environmental ...

Former district attorney in western Pennsylvania gets prison time for attacking a woman

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:38:51 GMT

SOMERSET, Pa. (AP) — A former western Pennsylvania district attorney was sentenced Thursday to up to seven years in prison after a jury convicted him of attacking a woman in her home.Somerset County’s former elected District Attorney Jeffrey Thomas was sentenced to between just over two years to seven years in prison after a Somerset County jury found him guilty earlier this year of strangulation and criminal trespassing, both felonies, and simple assault, unlawful restraint, indecent assault and false imprisonment. He was acquitted of sexual assault and aggravated indecent assault.Thomas, 37, a Republican, is required to register with police as a sex offender for 15 years, the state attorney general’s office said. Thomas’ attorney, Ryan M. Tutera, said in a phone interview Thursday they consider the sentence to be too high but that it could have been more “devastating” had he not been acquitted of several charges. Tutera said Thomas maintains he’s innocent of the charge...

Jonathan Toews makes decision on future, thanks Blackhawks fans

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:38:51 GMT

CHICAGO — The longtime captain of the Blackhawks had two things to say on social media on Thursday - one saying thanks to his former team and the other his intention for the 2023-2024 season.On Instagram on Thursday, Toews posted a lengthy thank you to the Blackhawks along with their fans four months after taking the ice with the franchise for the final time. Hours later, he announced on the social media platform that he was not retiring, but rather stepping away from the NHL for the 2023-2024 season.The Blackhawks announced before the season finale that a contract extension would not be offered to the captain, who has spent his entire NHL career with the franchise. Toews is a free agent, but won't sign anywhere this offseason.Here is the statement he released on Instagram on Thursday.I’d like to announce that I am not fully retiring, but I am taking time away from the game again this season. I cannot deny my love for the game of hockey and still feel the passion for competing at my...