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Oil project near Amazon River mouth blocked by Brazil’s environment agency

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:52:45 GMT

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Brazil’s environmental regulator refused on Wednesday to grant a license for a controversial offshore oil drilling project near the mouth of the Amazon River, prompting celebration from environmentalists who had warned of its potential impact. The decision to reject the state-run oil company Petrobras’ request to drill the FZA-M-59 block was made “as a function of a group of technical inconsistencies,” said the agency’s president, Rodrigo Agostinho, who highlighted environmental concerns.With Brazil’s existing production set to peak in coming years, Petrobras has sought to secure more reserves off Brazil’s northern coast. The company earmarked almost half its five-year, $6 billion exploration budget for the area. CEO Jean Paul Prates had said that the first well would be temporary and that the company has never recorded a leak in offshore drilling. The company failed to convince the environmental agency.“There is no doubt that Petrobras ...

Documents leak suspect had been warned about handling of classified information, prosecutors say

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:52:45 GMT

BOSTON (AP) — Superiors of the Massachusetts Air National Guard member charged with leaking highly classified military documents had raised concerns internally on multiple occasions about his handling or viewing of classified information, according to a court filing Wednesday. Justice Department lawyers made the disclosure in a court papers urging a magistrate judge to keep Jack Teixeira behind bars while he awaits trial in the case stemming from the most consequential intelligence leak in years. The judge is expected to hear more arguments Friday on prosecutors’ detention request and issue a ruling. Teixeira is accused of sharing highly classified documents about top national security issues in a chatroom on Discord, a social media platform that started as a hangout for gamers. He has not yet entered a plea. Prosecutors told the judge in their filing that Teixeira continued leaking documents even after he was admonished by superiors on two separate occasions last year over &#...

Alaska lawmakers weigh bill to keep gun shops open during disasters if other businesses are

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:52:45 GMT

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Alaska lawmakers were poised to pass legislation Wednesday that seeks to block state and local officials from closing gun stores during disasters declared by the governor, unless such closures apply to all other businesses. The bill, HB61, is a response to business closures in Alaska and other states during the pandemic, according to a statement from House Speaker Cathy Tilton, a Wasilla Republican and the bill’s sponsor. Several other states have adopted similar bills.The bill was one of the last debated by lawmakers in the waning days of the 121-day regular legislative session, which was set to end Wednesday. It was backed by the lobbying arm of the National Rifle Association and criticized as a “special rights” bill by state Sen. Jesse Kiehl, a Juneau Democrat. The measure passed the Senate 17-3 on Tuesday and was returned to the House for a concurrence vote. The bill was on the House’s calendar Wednesday, but the House had yet to meet as of late...

Mattea Roach advances to next round of ‘Jeopardy Masters’ tournament

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:52:45 GMT

LOS ANGELES — Canadian trivia phenom Mattea Roach has made it to the semifinals of “Jeopardy Masters,” a spinoff of the TV game show that made them famous.The Toronto-based writer and podcaster came in third in their game on tonight’sshow but still managed to land a spot in the next round, which begins Monday.The tournament pit six recent super-champions against each other, including Roach, James Holzhauer and Amy Schneider.A different combination of competitors plays two “high-stakes games” in each hour-long episode. Roach entered tonight’s episode ranked third of the six, with Holzhauer in the lead.The final episode of the tournament airs next Wednesday on CTV2.This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 17, 2023.The Canadian Press

Man charged in hate-motivated incidents in Toronto’s east end

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:52:45 GMT

Toronto police say a man arrested in a hate-motivated incident in Peel Region is now facing a dozen charges in connection with a pair of anti-Islamic hate-motivated events in Scarborough. Police allege that 28-year-old Sharan Karunakaran visited two Scarborough mosques in the area of Lawrence Avenue East and Markham Road and Lawrence Avenue East and Midland Avenue on the morning of April 6. Investigators say Karunakaran entered the parking lots at both mosques and attempted to hit worshippers and other vehicles before fleeing the scene. “Tollowing the incidents at the two mosques, the accused travelled to Scarborough Town Centre and entered the mall. While inside the mall, he harassed and threatened several customers, shouting anti-Islamic and derogatory comments,” police said. Karunakaran was arrested on May 3 and is facing 13 charges including two counts of dangerous operation of a vehicle, two counts of assault with a weapon and five counts of criminal harassment. Kar...

G-Eazy heading to Chicago this summer

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:52:45 GMT

CHICAGO -- The Bay Area is heading to the Windy City!Rapper G-Eazy will be taking his "Nothing Ever Lasts Forever" tour to The Vic Theatre in Chicago on Thursday, June 15. LL Cool J, first tour in 30 years, to stop in Chicago The Oakland native hit the mainstream with his 2014 studio debut album "These Things Happen." His 2015 hit song "Me, Myself & I" featuring Bebe Rexha has over a billion streams on Spotify.G-Eazy last performed in Chicago during his "Endless Summer Tour" with Ty Dolla $ign, P-Lo, and YBN Nahmir in August 2018.The event will begin at 8 p.m. on Thursday, June 15.For ticket information, click here.

Bill banning puberty blockers, hormone treatments for trans kids sent to Texas governor

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:52:45 GMT

AUSTIN (The Texas Tribune) -- Texas is on the brink of banning transgender minors from getting puberty blockers and hormone therapies, treatments that leading medical groups say are important to supporting their mental health.The Senate has voted 19-12 Wednesday to accept Senate Bill 14’s House version and send it to Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk, two days after the lower chamber passed the legislation.The bill is a legislative priority for the Republican Party of Texas, which opposes any efforts to validate transgender identities. It’s also a key proposal among a slate of GOP bills that would restrict the rights and representation of LGBTQ Texans this session, amid a growing acceptance of Christian nationalism on the right.Authored by New Braunfels Republican Sen. Donna Campbell, SB 14 would prohibit trans Texans under the age of 18 from accessing transition-related medical treatments including puberty blockers, hormone therapies and surgeries — though surgeries are rarely performed on k...

Letters: St. Paul should showcase Summit Avenue’s storied history for civic benefit

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:52:45 GMT

See the civic value of Summit’s storied historyHead east from Lexington on Summit Avenue and before you reach the Cathedral, you will have passed what F. Scott Fitzgerald once called a “museum of failed architecture.” Whether or not the architecture is failed, it is a museum. The structures on Summit Avenue are treasure troves of history, not only of Saint Paul but of Saint Paul’s reach into the larger world: the governor’s residence; the townhouse where F. Scott wrote his break-through novel, This Side of Paradise; the house at Heather Place where America’s first winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature, Sinclair Lewis, spent a summer; the homes from which Weyerhaeuser and Hill built their empires — to cite just a few.The miracle is that this stretch of Victorian mansions and history is today intact and functional as a residential street, a civic asset probably unique in present day United States. It is a local treasure, one it seems some of us fail to notice. We can forgive ...

A fracture, a contusion, a strain: Twins’ loss in LA extra painful

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:52:45 GMT

LOS ANGELES — Nick Gordon fouled a ball off his right shin and crumpled to the dirt in pain. Four innings later, Joey Gallo did the same.Gallo was still dealing with considerable swelling after the game, but he avoided a fracture. Gordon wasn’t quite as lucky. The utilityman suffered a fractured shin, Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said, and is expected to miss a considerable time.To top things off, second baseman Jorge Polanco also left early, straining his hamstring while running to first on a groundball in the fourth inning of what became a quite painful 7-3 loss to the Dodgers on Wednesday afternoon. That makes Thursday’s off day in Southern California particularly well-timed as the Twins assess the injuries and sift through potential roster replacements.Polanco said after the game that his hamstring felt tight, but he and the team would see how it feels on Friday and go from there.“What happened to me last year (with injuries), it made me more aware,” Polanco said. “Stuff l...

Families of Schoharie limo victims react to guilty verdict

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:52:45 GMT

SCHOHARIE, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- It was an emotional day in Schoharie County Court on Wednesday. Family members of the victims of the fatal Schoharie limousine crash walked in not knowing what to expect, but it quickly became clear they were pleased with the outcome.It was a verdict more than four years in the making. Nauman Hussain was convicted on 20 counts of second degree manslaughter. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! From the cheer inside the courtroom to outside with the sun shining down on them, the families of the victims embraced each other on their victory."We did it!" Mary Ashton exclaimed."The day we waited for, it's been a long time coming," Jill Richardson Perez said. "It may have been a shorter trial than people thought, but for us, those were long, long days." Hussain guilty of manslaughter in Schoharie limo crash trial After the verdict was read, Hussain was lead away to jail in handcuffs. A sentencing hearing ...