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Environmental groups recruit people of color into overwhelmingly white conservation world

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:21:51 GMT

BARABOO, Wis. (AP) — Arianna Barajas never thought of herself as the outdoors type. The daughter of Mexican immigrants who grew up in Chicago’s suburbs, her forays into nature usually amounted to a bike ride to a community park. She was interested in wild animals but had no idea she could make a living working with them until her older brother enrolled in veterinarian school. She took a leap of faith and enrolled at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and became a wildlife ecology major. This summer Barajas landed an internship designed for people of color at the International Crane Foundation’s headquarters in Baraboo, Wisconsin, and stepped into a new world.“I always knew growing up I had an interest in wildlife and animals but didn’t know the options I had,” Barajas, 21, said. “I really just have a passion for the outdoors. I can’t just be in an office all day. I need to be outside and doing things I think are valuable.”Environmental groups across th...

Workers exposed to extreme heat have no consistent protection in the US

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:21:51 GMT

RENO, Nev. (AP) — Santos Brizuela spent more than two decades laboring outdoors, persisting despite a bout of heatstroke while cutting sugarcane in Mexico and chronic laryngitis from repeated exposure to the hot sun while on various other jobs.But last summer, while on a construction crew in Las Vegas, he reached his breaking point. Exposure to the sun made his head ache immediately. He lost much of his appetite. Now at a maintenance job, Brizuela, 47, is able to take breaks. There are flyers on the walls with best practices for staying healthy — protections he had not been afforded before.“Sometimes as a worker you ask your employer for protection or for health and safety related needs, and they don’t listen or follow,” he said in Spanish through an interpreter.A historic heat wave that began blasting the Southwest and other parts of the country this summer is shining a spotlight on one of the harshest, yet least-addressed effects of U.S. climate change: the rising deaths and injur...

Ten-hut Time Machine? West Point to open time capsule possibly left by cadets in the 1820s

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:21:51 GMT

A long-forgotten time capsule at West Point recently discovered inside the base of a monument and believed to have been left by cadets in the late 1820s is expected to be pried open Monday.The contents of the small lead box could possibly provide a window into the early, more Spartan days of the storied U.S. Military Academy. It’s not certain exactly when the box was placed in the monument’s marble base or who chose any items inside, though a committee of five cadets that may have been involved with the time capsule included 1829 graduate Robert E. Lee, the future Confederate general.The box will be opened during a livestreamed event.“It’s a mystery, right? A mystery of history,” said Jennifer Voigtschild, the academy’s command historian.The container was discovered in May during restoration to a monument honoring the Revolutionary War hero Thaddeus Kosciuszko. A construction manager made the surprise find and carefully pulled out the hefty box, which is about a cubic fo...

Lotto 649 winning numbers for Saturday, Aug. 26, 2023

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:21:51 GMT

TORONTO — The winning numbers in Saturday’s Lotto 649 draw for an estimated $5 million: 06, 10, 11, 22, 32 & 43.Bonus: 27The winning number for the guaranteed $1 million: 12849755-01 In the event of any discrepancy between this list and the official winning numbers, the latter shall prevail. The Canadian Press

Women working in Antarctica say they were left to fend for themselves against sexual harassers

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:21:51 GMT

CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand (AP) — The howling winds and perpetual darkness of the Antarctic winter were easing to a frozen spring when mechanic Liz Monahon at McMurdo Station grabbed a hammer.If those in charge weren’t going to protect her from the man she feared would kill her, she figured, she needed to protect herself. It wasn’t like she could escape. They were all stuck there together on the ice.So she kept the hammer with her at all times, either looped into her Carhartt overalls or tucked into her sports bra.“If he came anywhere near me, I was going to start swinging at him,” Monahon says. “I decided that I was going to survive.”___Monahon, 35, is one of many women who say the isolated environment and macho culture at the United States research center in Antarctica have allowed sexual harassment and assault to flourish.The National Science Foundation, the federal agency that oversees the U.S. Antarctic Program, published a report in 2022 in which 59% of women said they’d experi...

North Korea to allow its citizens abroad to return home, a sign of further easing of pandemic curbs

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:21:51 GMT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea said Sunday it will allow its citizens staying abroad to return home in line with easing pandemic situations worldwide, as the country slowly eases its draconian coronavirus restrictions. In a brief statement carried by state media, the State Emergency Epidemic Prevention Headquarters said those returning to North Korea will be put in quarantine for a week for “proper medical observation.”The statement didn’t elaborate. But analysts predicted the announcement would lead to the return of North Korean students, workers and others who have had to stay abroad, mostly in China and Russia, because of the pandemic. The workers are a key source of foreign income for the country.North Korea banned tourists, jetted out diplomats and severely curtailed border traffic and trade after the pandemic began. The lockdown has further worsened the North’s chronic economic difficulties and food insecurity. Earlier this month, South Korea’s spy age...

Takeaways from AP’s investigation into sexual harassment and assault at Antarctica’s McMurdo Station

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:21:51 GMT

CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand (AP) — Many women who work at McMurdo Station, the main United States research base in Antarctica, say the isolated environment and macho culture have allowed sexual harassment and assault to flourish.The National Science Foundation, which oversees the U.S. Antarctic Program, published a report in 2022 in which 59% of women said they’d experienced harassment or assault while on the ice.But the problem goes beyond the harassment itself, The Associated Press found. In reviewing court records and internal communications, and in interviews with more than a dozen current and former employees, the AP uncovered a pattern of women who said their claims of harassment or assault were minimized by their employers, often leading to them or others being put in further danger.Several Antarctic workers spoke publicly about their experiences to the AP for the first time.GRABBING A HAMMERMechanic Liz Monahon told the AP a man at the base threatened her in 2021, but her empl...

Broncos Preseason Stock Report: Who’s up, who’s down after 41-0 win over Rams

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:21:51 GMT

The third and final stock report of the preseason after the Broncos’ 41-0 win over the Los Angeles Rams on Saturday night. Stock UpJarrett Stidham: Broncos backup Jarrett Stidham’s first drive was surgical. Maybe a work of art. He tore apart the Rams’ secondary, going 6 for 6 with 71 yards before running back Jaleel McLaughlin scored on a 1-yard rushing touchdown. He completed a 21-yard pass to wide receiver Lil’Jordan Humphrey on third-and-long before hitting tight end Albert Okwuegbunam for a 17-yard completion.Stidham didn’t stop there. He completed 50-yard pass to rookie wide receiver Marvin Mims Jr., while getting blasted by Rams defenders. Good news, he was OK. Stidham would later cement his legacy game with a 20-yard run, an 8-yard touchdown pass to Okwuegbunam and a 49-yard bomb to wide receiver Brandon Johnson.If there was a spot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame for preseason performances, Stidham’s jersey and helmet would be on display after throwing for 236 yards and a to...

No. 2 QB Jarrett Stidham sharp, Broncos WRs make their case in runaway victory over Rams in preseason finale

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:21:51 GMT

The Broncos wide receiver room, battered by a series of preseason injuries, is somewhat suddenly a land of opportunity.Several players took their turns trying to stake claim to roster spots, playing time and targets in a 41-0 runaway win for the Broncos in their preseason finale against the Los Angeles Rams on Saturday night at Empower Field.On a night when neither team played its starters, dozens of players competing for roster spots got their turn.Denver No. 2 quarterback Jarrett Stidham found Lil’Jordan Humprey three times on a 6-for-6 opening drive alone. He hit Marvin Mims Jr. for a 51-yard gain on a contested deep post and then beat double coverage again for 49 more to Brandon Johnson later in the half.Tight end Albert Okwuegbunam, considered to be on the roster bubble himself, caught four passes for 46 and a touchdown in the first half. He finished with seven receptions for 109 yards.If the Broncos carry Jerry Jeudy on their roster until he returns from a hamstring injury, th...

6 arrested for Highland Park shoe store robbery

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:21:51 GMT

Six people were arrested for organized robberies targeting a Warehouse Shoe Store (WSS) in Highland Park. The thefts targeting the store located at 6251 York Blvd. happened on Aug. 22-23, according to L.A. County District Attorney George Gascón. WSS is a national retail chain selling casual sneakers, shoes, clothing and accessories.The suspects were identified as:- Abraham Olivares, 25- Raul Palazuelos aka Raul Perez, 18- Joe Hernandez, 24- Henry Thomas, 20- Michonna Metcalf, 30- Trista Manuel, 20On Aug. 22 at around 4 p.m., Olivares and Palazuelos allegedly entered the WSS store aand stole a large amount of shoes and merchandise without paying for it. They fled the scene before police could arrive.On Aug. 23 at around 1 p.m., Thomas, Metcalf and Manuel allegedly entered the store and began grabbing merchandise before stuffing them into large bags. The suspects fled the scene in a getaway car before police could arrive.At the time, officers received information that the suspect...