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GOP measures would undo protections for endangered lesser prairie chicken

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:30 GMT

WASHINGTON — Congress has approved two measures to undo federal protections for the lesser prairie chicken and northern long-eared bat — two endangered animals that have seen their populations plummet over the years.In separate votes Thursday, the House gave final legislative approval to rescind protections for the lesser prairie chicken — a rare prairie bird once thought to number in the millions, but now hovers around 30,000, officials said — and the long-eared bat, one of 12 bat types decimated by a fungal disease called white-nose syndrome.The legislative actions, backed mostly by Republicans, represent rare congressional involvement in matters usually left to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service. The Endangered Species Act tasks the agencies with deciding which animals and plants to list as endangered or threatened and how to rebuild their populations.The lesser prairie chicken, which belongs to the grouse family, is found in ...

Firefighters in full suppression mode on Lowline fire near Gunnison; Thunder fire near Norwood not growing

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:30 GMT

Two lightning-sparked fires were burning in forests of western Colorado Friday morning and firefighters were ramping up efforts to suppress flames.Clouds and rain Thursday afternoon helped slow the largest fire, dubbed the Lowline fire, which was burning on 730 acres of mostly public land managed by the U.S. Forest Service about 14 miles north of Gunnison. Smoke plumes rose from a ridge, at an elevation of 9,400 feet, between Squirrel and Mill creeks. The fire was burning spruce and aspen in forests laden with dead and fallen trees.Federal fire managers on Friday morning said hot weather will favor the flames.“We expect this fire to build some intensity again, though not necessarily making big runs,” said Rick Barton, spokesperson for the interagency team fighting the fire. “We are in full suppression mode.”No injuries or damage to buildings were reported.Ground crews were using bulldozers to try to create breaks around the fire, Barton said. Three helicopter...

Mega Millions jackpot soars to $940 million

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:30 GMT

The jackpot for Friday night’s Mega Millions drawing has surged to $940 million, California Lottery officials announced.The nationwide contest has gone 28 straight drawings without anyone matching all six numbers.Friday night’s jackpot is now the fifth-largest in Mega Millions history.The cash value for the drawing is an estimated $472 million. Winners would also be subject to federal taxes, while many states also tax lottery winnings.Mega Millions tickets start at $2 each and are sold in 45 states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.In California, revenue from lottery ticket sales benefits public schools. $65 million has been raised from this jackpot alone, officials said.

United Airlines pilot shows up drunk for international flight

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:30 GMT

A court in France sentenced a United Airlines pilot to a six-month suspended prison term and one-year suspended license for showing up to work intoxicated Tuesday, local media outlets reported. The pilot, reportedly a 63-year-old American, referred to only as “Henry W.” in French media, showed up to work at Paris’s Charles de Gaulle Airport with a blood alcohol content three times the legal limit for pilots in Europe. According to an emailed statement by United sent to The Hill, the flight was headed to Washington Dulles International Airport, despite other reports it was going to Dallas.“The safety of our customers and crew is always our top priority,” the United statement said. “We hold all our employees to the highest standards and have a strict no-tolerance policy for alcohol. This employee was immediately removed from service and we are fully cooperating with local authorities.”According to a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, by the National Gendarmerie, a French national l...

Kimberly Roxanne Layne and Douglas Keith Bland Jr. Killed in 2-Car Accident on Speedway Boulevard [Tucson, AZ]

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:30 GMT

Two Pronounced Dead after Two-Vehicle Collision near North Jefferson AvenueTUCSON, AZ (July 28, 2023) – Monday morning, a 2-car accident claimed the lives of Kimberly Roxanne Layne and Douglas Keith Bland Jr.Police responded to the scene around 11:30 a.m., near the intersection of East Speedway Boulevard and North Jefferson Avenue on July 24th.Officers say the driver of a green Toyota Yaris attempted to make a left turn onto Jefferson Avenue and collided with a Mercedes that was traveling at a high rate of speed.Medics arrived and pronounced the driver and passenger of the Toyota dead at the scene. Authorities later identified them as 39-year-old Layne, and 40-year-old Bland Jr.In addition, crews transported one other victim to a nearby hospital for further treatment.Following preliminary duties, police determined that the 81-year-old male driver of the Mercedes was not impaired. Officers suspect that failure to yield right-of-way and speed were factors. However, an active inv...

Military names general as head of state in Niger

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:30 GMT

By Sam Mednick | Associated PressNIAMEY, Niger — Mutinous soldiers who staged a coup in Niger declared their leader the new head of state on Friday, hours after the general asked for national and international support despite rising concerns that the political crisis could hinder the nation’s fight against jihadists and boost Russia’s influence in West Africa.Spokesman Col. Maj. Amadou Abdramane said on state television that the constitution was suspended and Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani was in charge.Various factions of Niger’s military have reportedly wrangled for control since members of the presidential guard detained President Mohamed Bazoum, who was elected two years ago in Niger’s first peaceful, democratic transfer of power since independence from France.Niger is seen as the last reliable partner for the West in efforts to battle jihadists linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group in Africa’s Sahel region, where Russia and Western countries ha...

In Phoenix heat, ice-filled body bags are a life-saving technology

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:30 GMT

By Zahra Hirji, Bloomberg NewsAs temperatures hit 119 degrees in Phoenix last week, doctors at Valleywise Health Medical Center saw a patient whose internal temperature was at least 110 — the maximum registered by its thermometers.Needing to cool the patient down as quickly as possible, the emergency medical team turned to a technique they had designed and honed themselves: immersing the person in a body bag filled with ice. It worked. In less than half an hour, the patient’s temperature was down to about 102, low enough to move on to further treatment and observation. The next day, the medical team had to pull out a new body bag.All over the world, this July has been record-setting hot — the result of an intensifying El Niño in the Pacific Ocean layered on top of a worsening climate change. The impacts are especially severe in Phoenix, ground zero for extreme heat in the U.S. The city has experienced 25 consecutive days with temperatures of at least 110, a record. At night, tempera...

Some states protect Section 8 renters, but enforcement is elusive

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:30 GMT

By Robbie Sequeira, Stateline.orgMarcella Roberson is ready to move. She and her 17-year-old son have been looking for a new apartment for four years because, she says, they’ve suffered domestic violence in their current living situation in Camden, New Jersey.She hopes her federal housing voucher can bring them a new home and a chance at safety. But landlords have rejected her applications for roughly seven apartments in the past two years.“I know they don’t want to rent to me. … They see my voucher and don’t care about the situation I’m in or what I can do,” Roberson, who works a few gig economy jobs, said in an interview with Stateline. “[Landlords] see my voucher as a red flag, as a sign that I’m unreliable.”Roberson’s experience reflects the journey of many recipients of federal housing choice vouchers, known as Section 8 vouchers, because some landlords have concerns about the source of residents’ income.Seventeen states and the District of Columbia have passed source of income...

Alameda County DA gives early release to Oakland man convicted of murder in 2003 crash during police chase

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:30 GMT

OAKLAND — Seventeen years after he was sentenced to 53 years in prison for killing a 62-year-old man while attempting to evade police, an Oakland resident has been released from prison through a motion by the Alameda County District Attorney’s office, court records show.In a petition to grant early release to 53-year-old Claudie Easley, prosecutors cited a state law intended to reduce sentencing disparities, and added that Easley has performed “exceptionally well” while incarcerated. Easley was convicted of second degree murder and evading in the Aug. 27, 2003 crash that killed Clinton Grandy.“(Easley) has engaged in a number of self-help and rehabilitative groups, and has had few rule violations (his last rule violation was in 2014 for possession of a cell phone),” Deputy District Attorney Dana Drusinsky wrote in a legal motion, later adding that he has a “realistic” plan to get back on his feet after his release from his prison.Drusi...

Detached house sells in Dublin for $1.7 million

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:30 GMT

3717 Rimini Lane – Google Street ViewA spacious house located in the 3700 block of Rimini Lane in Dublin has new owners. The 2,611-square-foot property, built in 2010, was sold on June 13, 2023. The $1,680,000 purchase price works out to $643 per square foot. The layout of this two-story house includes three bedrooms and three bathrooms. In addition, the home includes a two-car garage, ensuring ample room for parking and storage. The lot of the property covers an area of 3,930 square feet.Additional houses have recently been sold nearby:On Houlton Court, Dublin, in June 2023, a 2,851-square-foot home was sold for $1,920,000, a price per square foot of $673. The home has 5 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms.A 2,887-square-foot home on the 3500 block of Rimini Lane in Dublin sold in November 2022, for $1,635,000, a price per square foot of $566. The home has 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms.In August 2022, a 2,302-square-foot home on West Chesterfield Circle in Dublin sold for $1,649,000, a price per...