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California wildfires could be transforming natural metals into cancer-causing compounds

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:56:14 GMT

(The Hill) — Wildfires in parts of the U.S. West may be transforming a benign form of chromium into its cancer-causing counterpart — potentially endangering first responders and surrounding communities, a new study has found.The research, published Tuesday in the journal Nature Communications, identified high levels of the hazardous metal hexavalent chromium, or chromium-6, at specific types of burn sites along California’s North Coast.Also known as “the Erin Brockovich chemical,” chromium-6 emerged in the public eye in the 1990s after Brockovich — then a legal aid — found that it was contaminating drinking water and sickening residents of Hinkley, Calif.This toxic compound, which raises cancer risk when inhaled or ingested, was not present at the sites of interest for the study before they burned.Rather, soils and plants at these locations were rich in naturally-occurring trivalent chromium — chromium-3 — an essential nutrient that helps the human body break down glucose.While...

Cold case: Pacific Beach murder victim identified 42 years later

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:56:14 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- A woman who was found dead in Pacific Beach in 1981 has been identified, the San Diego Police Department reports.On Tuesday, SDPD announced the woman, found dead on Garnet Avenue in Pacific Beach in October of 1981, has been identified as Elaine Armstrong of Kalamazoo, Michigan. 2 children dead, mother and friend seriously hurt in police pursuit crash; suspect identified Police say she was known by residents and local businesses to frequent Pacific Beach, but no one knew her actual identity. Community members believed she may have been homeless at the time and was known as "The Bag Lady."SPDP report when she was found, it was determined she had been beaten, stabbed and set on fire. She was 51 years old at the time of her death. Her purse was found near her body with an ID inside, but because of the fire it was burned and unreadable.Now, 42 years later, with financial assistance from Project Justice, her remains were able to be identified. Othram, a private, forensic ...

Human trafficking charges laid against Quebec man in B.C., RCMP say

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:56:14 GMT

KELOWNA — Police in Montreal have arrested a 36-year-old man for Mounties in Kelowna, B.C., on multiple charges of human trafficking. RCMP say in a statement that their sex crimes unit began an investigation in 2021 and collected evidence leading to the arrest of Stanley Jean-Baptiste. Cpl. Tim Russell with the Kelowna RCMP’s vulnerable persons unit says they know the city is part of a circuit used by traffickers who exploit people for sexual purposes.Police say they have collaborated with the city, the Kelowna airport and Kelowna Child Advocacy Centre on an awareness campaign aimed at preventing human trafficking and youth sexual exploitation. The RCMP says Jean-Baptiste was arrested with the help of police in Montreal on Dec. 8. He is in custody and is scheduled to be escorted back to Kelowna to face the charges. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 12, 2023. The Canadian Press

House panel urges tougher trade rules for China, raising chance of more tariffs if Congress agrees

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:56:14 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — A special House committee focused on China is calling for altering the way the U.S. treats Chinese-made goods, possibly subjecting them to higher tariffs even if its risks increased tensions between the two economic superpowers.The report does not specifically call for repealing China’s preferential trade status, but it does recommend placing China in a new trading category that some liken to a de facto repeal. The committee’s chairman said he envisions a process where Congress would determine regularly which economic sectors would be subject to higher tariffs and which would see lower tariffs.Lawmakers in both parties endorsed the proposal, a reflection of the growing willingness in Congress to build on the tariffs enacted during Donald Trump’s presidency, even if it risks retaliatory actions from China that would harm many farmers, ranchers and U.S. exporters.The committee crafted the recommendation after several months of deliberation and heari...

Russian man who flew on Los Angeles flight without passport or ticket charged with federal crime

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:56:14 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A Russian man who flew on a plane from Denmark to Los Angeles in November without a passport or ticket told U.S. authorities he didn’t remember how he got through security in Europe, according to a federal complaint filed by the FBI. Sergey Vladimirovich Ochigava arrived at Los Angeles International Airport on Nov. 4 via Scandinavian Airlines flight 931 from Copenhagen. A U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer could not find Ochigava on the flight manifest or any other incoming international flights, according to the complaint filed Nov. 6 in Los Angeles federal court. He was charged with being a stowaway on an aircraft and pleaded not guilty in a Dec. 5 arraignment. A trial was scheduled for Dec. 26. A federal public defender representing Ochigava, who remained in custody Tuesday, didn’t immediately return a phone message from The Associated Press seeking comment. The flight crew told investigators that during the flight’s departure, Ochigava was in a s...

Colorado authorities identify 4 people found dead following reported shooting inside home

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:56:14 GMT

PEYTON, Colo. (AP) — Colorado authorities on Tuesday released the identities of four people, including three family members, who were found dead inside a home in rural Colorado following a reported shooting last week.The manner and causes of death were not released pending final autopsy results from the El Paso County coroner. However, only three of the deaths are being investigated as homicides, according to the county sheriff’s office, suggesting they were killed in an apparent murder-suicide. The deaths of Desiree N. Vandelac, 54, Robert V. Vandelac, 57, and Debray A. Scott, 30, are being investigated as homicides.The Vandelacs’ son, Peyton S. Vandelac, also was found deceased inside the residence.The shooting was reported near midnight on Dec. 6 in the small community of Peyton, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) northeast of Colorado Springs. Deputies initially found a man outside the home with injuries that were not life-threatening, and a SWAT team later entered and f...

Haley gets endorsement from Gov. Chris Sununu ahead of pivotal New Hampshire primary

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:56:14 GMT

MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) — New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu endorsed Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley on Tuesday, six weeks before the state’s pivotal first-in-the-nation primary.Sununu appeared with Haley during a campaign town hall at a ski area in Manchester.“This is an opportunity for New Hampshire to lead this country, for New Hampshire to say we’re not looking in the rearview mirror anymore,” Sununu said.His message for Donald Trump: “Thank you for your service, Mr. President, we’re moving on. This is New Hampshire, and we go forward.”Joining Sununu, Haley called it “about as rock solid as an endorsement as we could hope for.”“It’s a great night in New Hampshire, I mean it doesn’t get any better than this,” she said.The endorsement, first reported by WMUR-TV, comes as Haley angles to whittle away at Donald Trump’s wide lead for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. A New Hampshire poll conducted in November by CNN and the University of New Hampshire...

Argentina devalues its currency and cuts subsidies as part of shock economic measures

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:56:14 GMT

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Argentina on Tuesday announced a sharp devaluation of its currency and cuts to energy and transportation subsidies as part of shock adjustments new President Javier Milei says are needed to deal with an economic “emergency.”Economy Minister Luis Caputo said in a televised message the Argentine peso will be devalued by 50% to 800 to the U.S. dollar from 400 pesos to the dollar. “For a few months, we’re going to be worse than before,” Milei said, two days after the libertarian was sworn in as president of the second largest economy in South America and immediately warned of tough measures.Milei said the country didn’t have time to consider other alternatives. Argentina is suffering 143% annual inflation, its currency has plunged and four in 10 Argentines are impoverished. The nation has also a yawning fiscal deficit, a trade deficit of $43 billion, plus a daunting $45 billion debt to the International Monetary Fund, with $10.6 billion due to ...

An abortion ban enacted in 1864 is under review in the Arizona Supreme Court

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:56:14 GMT

The Arizona Supreme Court grilled lawyers Tuesday over whether a pre-statehood ban on nearly all abortions has been limited or made moot by other statutes enacted over the past 50 years.The state’s high court is reviewing a lower-court decision that said doctors couldn’t be charged for performing the procedure in the first 15 weeks of pregnancy because other Arizona laws over the years have allowed them to provide abortions. The 1864 law, which remains on the books, imposes a near total ban on abortions, providing no exceptions for rape or incest but allowing them if a mother’s life is in danger.Nearly a year ago, the Arizona Court of Appeals concluded that doctors can’t be prosecuted for performing abortions in the first 15 weeks. But it said people who aren’t doctors would still be subject to prosecution under the old law. Attorneys representing Dr. Eric Hazelrigg, the medical director of anti-abortion counseling centers in metro Phoenix who appealed the decision, had ...

US wildlife managers capture wandering Mexican wolf, attempt dating game ahead of breeding season

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:56:14 GMT

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A match made in the wilds of New Mexico? An endangered Mexican wolf captured last weekend after wandering hundreds of miles from Arizona to New Mexico is now being readied for a dating game of sorts as part of federal reintroduction efforts.But only time will tell whether the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service can succeed in finding a suitable mate for the female wolf numbered F2754. The newly captured wolf will be offered a choice among two brothers that are also housed at the federal government’s wolf management facility in central New Mexico.“We wanted to bring her in earlier so that she has a longer chance to bond with a mate and then hopefully successfully breed,” said agency spokeswoman Aislinn Maestas. “We’re going to be observing her and waiting to see. Hopefully, she does show interest in one or the other.”It could be late February or early March before biologists know if their efforts are successful. It has been 25 years since Mexican gray wolves...