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Vanishing whale’s decline worse than previously thought, feds say

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:32:42 GMT

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A review of the status of a vanishing species of whale found that the animal’s population is in worse shape than previously thought, federal ocean regulators said Monday.The North Atlantic right whale numbers less than 350, and it has been declining in population for several years. The federal government declared the whale’s decline an “unusual mortality event,” which means an unexpected and significant die-off, in 2017.The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released new data that 114 of the whales have been documented as dead, seriously injured or sub-lethally injured or sick since the start of the mortality event. That is an increase of 16 whales since the previous estimate released earlier this year.The agency recently completed a review of the whales using photographs from researchers and surveys to create the new estimate, said Andrea Gomez, a spokesperson for NOAA.“Additional cases will continue to be reviewed, and animals will b...

GOP presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy lists Senators Cruz, Lee as possible Supreme Court picks

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:32:42 GMT

Biotech entrepreneur and Republican presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy on Monday released a list of 16 people he’d nominate to the U.S. Supreme Court or federal appellate courts if he becomes president, making him the first in the party’s field to itemize his possible top judicial appointments.Ramaswamy’s list includes Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas and Mike Lee of Utah as possible nominees for the nation’s top court, as well as elevating federal judges who struck down President Joe Biden’s airplane mask mandate and the FDA’s two-decade-long approval of the abortion pill.The direction of the Supreme Court was a powerful issue for Donald Trump in his 2016 bid. Conservative voters’ hunger to have a Republican president be the one to appoint a replacement for Justice Antonin Scalia, who died in early 2016, helped land the former reality TV star in the White House. Trump in the 2016 primary released his own list of possible appointments to the high court t...

Two-vehicle wreck kills 5 in fiery crash on northeast Georgia highway

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:32:42 GMT

ALTO, Ga. (AP) — Five people are dead after a wreck on a busy northeast Georgia highway.State troopers say Avonlea Holtzclaw of Dahlonega was trying to cross U.S. 23 in a Ford Explorer Sunday afternoon when a driver going northbound hit her. The wreck happened near Alto in Habersham County.Holtzclaw, 29, died in the wreck as did two children in her SUV, ages 5 and 6. Mitchell Boggs, a 58-year-old Marietta man who was driving a Chevrolet Corvette southbound, also died, as did an unnamed passenger.Both vehicles caught fire, and all the occupants of the vehicles died before they could be taken to a hospital.The fiery crash shut down the highway, a major artery between the north Georgia mountains and Gainesville, for nearly five hours.Source

Judge strikes down law allowing Tennessee Attorney General to argue certain death penalty cases

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:32:42 GMT

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — The appointed Tennessee Attorney General cannot argue certain capital cases on behalf of the state as in the case of a death row inmate who is seeking a second trial, a judge ruled Monday, saying that a new law violates the state Constitution.Shelby County Criminal Court Judge Paula Skahan said the law granting Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti authority to step into post-conviction death penalty cases is unconstitutional because it removes the power of the locally elected district attorney to argue such cases.Skahan said the state Constitution designates the district attorney as a state representative in criminal trial court proceedings, which includes death row inmate Larry McKay’s motion for another trial based on new evidence. Lawyers for the state Attorney General plan to appeal. If it stands, the ruling would affect other cases in Tennessee where death row inmates are challenging their convictions outside of the appeals process. McKay’s lawye...

Dallas visits New York after Ionescu’s 34-point outing

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:32:42 GMT

Dallas Wings (11-9, 7-5 Western Conference) at New York Liberty (14-4, 8-3 Eastern Conference)New York; Wednesday, 1 p.m. EDTBOTTOM LINE: New York plays the Dallas Wings after Sabrina Ionescu scored 34 points in the New York Liberty’s 95-87 overtime win against the Indiana Fever.The Liberty have gone 7-2 in home games. New York is 5-3 against opponents over .500.The Wings are 4-7 on the road. Dallas ranks second in the Western Conference scoring 39.6 points per game in the paint led by Natasha Howard averaging 10.3.The two teams square off for the second time this season. The Liberty defeated the Wings 102-93 in their last meeting on June 11. Breanna Stewart led the Liberty with 32 points, and Arike Ogunbowale led the Wings with 25 points.TOP PERFORMERS: Stewart is averaging 23.1 points, 9.8 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.7 steals for the Liberty. Ionescu is averaging 13.0 points over the last 10 games for New York.Satou Sabally is averaging 17.6 points, 9.2 rebounds, 3.5 assists...

Store that sold Alex Murdaugh’s son beer must pay $15 million to family of teen killed in boat crash

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:32:42 GMT

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — The family of a teen killed in a boat crash, which prosecutors said begin the financial downfall of double murderer Alex Murdaugh, has reached a $15 million deal to settle a lawsuit against a convenience store chain that sold Murdaugh’s son alcohol while under age.Sunday’s deal came after a judge refused to allow the Parker’s Kitchen chain to be separated from Murdaugh in a wrongful death trial next month in Hampton County, South Carolina, where Murdaugh was once a powerful and well-known attorney.Now Murdaugh is serving a life sentence without parole for killing his wife and the son involved in the 2019 drunken boat crash at their home two years later.Attorney Mark Tinsley told media outlets the $15 million settlement that will be paid by the convenience store chain’s insurance was amount that Mallory Beach’s family felt would show the store has to take alcohol laws seriously.The Parker’s Kitchen clerk did not stop Paul Murd...

Indiana takes on Washington, seeks to stop 8-game skid

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:32:42 GMT

Indiana Fever (5-15, 3-8 Eastern Conference) at Washington Mystics (11-8, 6-6 Eastern Conference)Washington; Wednesday, 11:30 a.m. EDTBOTTOM LINE: Indiana heads into the matchup against Washington after losing eight straight games.The Mystics’ record in Eastern Conference play is 6-6. Washington ranks third in the Eastern Conference with 26.9 defensive rebounds per game led by Shakira Austin averaging 6.2.The Fever’s record in Eastern Conference action is 3-8. Indiana has a 2-3 record in games decided by 10 or more points.The teams square off for the third time this season. The Mystics won the last meeting 96-88 on July 7. Brittney Sykes scored 29 points to help lead the Mystics to the win.TOP PERFORMERS: Natasha Cloud is averaging 10.9 points and 6.2 assists for the Mystics. Sykes is averaging 16.4 points over the last 10 games for Washington.NaLyssa Smith is averaging 15.6 points and 9.7 rebounds for the Fever. Kelsey Mitchell is averaging 16.6 points over the last 10 ...

A 5-story apartment building collapses in Cairo and kills at least 12 people, with two missing

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:32:42 GMT

CAIRO (AP) — A five-story apartment building collapsed Monday in the Egyptian capital of Cairo, leaving at least 12 people dead, authorities said, as rescuers continued to search through the rubble.Building collapses are common in Egypt, where shoddy construction and a lack of maintenance are widespread in shantytowns, poor city neighborhoods and rural areas.The state-run MENA news agency said rescue teams pulled bodies from the wreckage and sent four survivors to a hospital following the collapse in Cairo’s Hadaeq el-Qubbah neighborhood, roughly 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) from the city center.Cairo’s deputy governor, Hossam Fawzi, said 12 people were killed and that efforts continued to find two missing people.Following an initial investigation, Egypt’s Public Prosecutor said the collapse was likely caused by one of the ground floor residents who removed a number of walls during earlier maintenance work. The male resident was arrested and is being questioned, it said.Egyp...

1 dead and 76 injured in a bus crash on a major highway in southeastern Czech Republic

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:32:42 GMT

Two buses collided Monday on a Czech highway in the southeast of the country, killing one of the bus drivers and injuring 76, officials said.The regional rescue service said the accident took place near the second-largest Czech city of Brno, on the D2 highway.One of the buses hit the back of the other, which was going from the capital of Hungary, Budapest, to Prague, officials said.Some of the 14 seriously injured people were transported by helicopters to nearby hospitals, the service said.Police said the highway that links Czechia with the capital of Slovakia, Bratislava, had to be closed in both directions for several hours. Long lines of traffic formed on the highway, causing delays.An investigation into the cause of the crash is now underway. Source

After years of delay, Western Balkans hope for progress on joining the EU – and financial support

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:32:42 GMT

TIRANA, Albania (AP) — Leaders of the six Western Balkan countries met informally Monday in the Albanian capital, Tirana, to prepare for a summit on progress toward European Union integration, known as the Berlin Process.At an informal lunch, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama welcomed his counterparts from Montenegro, Serbia and North Macedonia, together with EU Enlargement Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi.On Oct. 16, Albania will host the summit on the Berlin Process, an initiative from Germany and France to encourage the Balkan countries in their path toward membership into the European Union.The six Western Balkan countries — Serbia, Kosovo, Bosnia, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Albania — are at different stages of integration into the bloc.Rama said he expected “the summit to have a meaningful outcome for the Western Balkans and serve as a further step” in facilitating the interactions between the countries of the region with the EU. “In parallel with the negotiation process, (we) ...