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Washington’s legal pot farms get back to work after pesticide concerns halted operations

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:57 GMT

SEATTLE (AP) — A big mound of fresh dirt sits at Terry Taylor’s marijuana farm in the high desert of north-central Washington state. Each hole for a new plant gets filled with the clean soil.Large swaths of recently installed landscape fabric cover the ground, and soon the dirt roads on his property will be covered in crushed rock to keep contaminated dust from covering the crops.Taylor’s pot farm is one of several getting back to business after state regulators halted their operations in April, citing product testing that turned up unacceptable levels of chemicals related to DDT, a synthetic pesticide banned half a century ago. The affected growers haven’t used the pesticide themselves, but they are located on a 5-mile (8-kilometer) stretch of former fruit orchards along the Okanogan River where it was applied heavily and remains in the soil.The Washington Liquor and Cannabis Board announced last week it had lifted the holds on the businesses, which are now taking...

Actress and singer Jane Birkin dies in Paris at age 76

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:57 GMT

PARIS (AP) — Actress and singer Jane Birkin has died at age 76, according to France’s Culture Ministry and French media. The British-born star was famously known for her musical and romantic relationship with French singer Serge Gainsbourg. Their songs notably included the steamy “Je t’aime moi non plus.” The French Culture Ministry tweeted that Birkin died Sunday. It hailed her as a “timeless Francophone icon.”French news outlets Liberation and BFM TV reported that Birkin was found dead at her home in Paris French newspaper Le Figaro reported that Birkin had suffered from health issues in the past few years that kept her from performing and her public appearances became sparse.BFM TV said Birkin suffered a mild stroke in 2021, forcing her to cancel shows that year. She canceled her shows again in March due to a broken shoulder blade. A return to performing in May was put off, the French broadcaster said, quoting the singer as saying she needed a bit more time and promising he...

9 bodies pulled from a flooded road tunnel in South Korea as rains cause flash floods and landslides

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:57 GMT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korean rescuers on Sunday pulled nine bodies from a flooded tunnel where around 15 vehicles were trapped in muddy water, as days of heavy rain triggered flash floods and landslides and destroyed homes across the country, officials said. A total of 37 people have died and thousands have been evacuated since July 9, when heavy rain started pounding South Korea’s central regions. Nearly 900 rescuers including divers were searching the tunnel in the central city of Cheongju, where the vehicles, including a bus, were swamped by a flash flood Saturday evening, Seo Jeong-il, chief of the city’s fire department, said in a briefing.Fire officials estimated that the tunnel filled with water in as little as two or three minutes.Photos and video from the scene showed rescue workers establishing a perimeter and pumping brown water out of the tunnel as divers used rubber boats to move in and out of the area.Yang Chan-mo, an official from the North Chungcheong...

Better weather conditions help slow down La Palma wildfire, Spanish authorities say

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:57 GMT

MADRID (AP) — Spanish authorities said on Sunday more favorable weather conditions have helped firefighters slow down the advance of a wildfire on La Palma in Spain’s Canary Islands that has forced the evacuation of more than 4,000 residents.The blaze, which started Saturday, has affected an area of about 4,600 hectares (11,300 acres) and burned some 20 houses and buildings.Authorities urged people not to go near the area on the northwest side of the island.Tourism Minister Héctor Gómez told reporters that thanks to the efforts to combat the blaze overnight, the outlook for bringing it under control had improved.More than 300 firefighters have been deployed and nine water-carrying helicopters and two planes are being used to try to extinguish the fire. A further 86 members of the army’s Military Emergency Unit were flown to the island on Sunday.The fire coincides with a heat wave that is hitting southern Europe.Temperatures in the Canary Islands, located off the northwest coas...

3 survivors rescued from rubble of collapsed apartment building in Naples, Italian media say

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:57 GMT

ROME (AP) — A wing of a three-story apartment building collapsed Sunday in a seaside suburb of Naples, and at least two people were pulled out alive from the rubble as rescuers searched for any others who might be trapped, Italian firefighters said. “As of now, there are no indications of people missing,’ said Luca Cari, a spokesperson for Italy’s national firefighters’ corps. Still, firefighters were removing rubble to verify that no one else was buried in the collapse in Torre del Greco, he said.Italian state broadcaster Rai, reporting from the scene, said a third survivor was extracted from the debris, but there was no immediate official confirmation of that. Rai TV said five families were living in the building, which it described as run-down, in the town 12 kilometers (7 miles) from Naples, in Italy’s southern Campania region. It was not immediately clear how many people might have been in or near the building in the town’s center when it came down...

Pipestone carvers preserve revered Native spiritual tradition in Minnesota prairie

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:57 GMT

PIPESTONE, Minn. (AP) — Under the tall prairie grass outside this southwestern Minnesota town lies a precious seam of dark red pipestone that, for thousands of years, Native Americans have quarried and carved into pipes essential to prayer and communication with the Creator.Only a dozen Dakota carvers remain in the predominantly agricultural area bordering South Dakota. While tensions have flared periodically over how broadly to produce and share the rare artifacts, many Dakota today are focusing on how to pass on to future generations a difficult skillset that’s inextricably linked to spiritual practice.“I’d be very happy to teach anyone … and the Spirit will be with you if you’re meant to do that,” said Cindy Pederson, who started learning how to carve from her grandparents six decades ago.Enrolled in the Sisseton-Wahpeton Dakota Nation, she regularly holds carving demonstrations at Pipestone National Monument, a small park that encompasses the quarries.In the worldview of the Dak...

Iraqi premier in Syria to discuss boosting cooperation during the first visit in over a decade

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:57 GMT

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Iraq’s prime minister held talks Sunday with Syrian President Bashar Assad in Damascus during the first trip of its kind to the war-torn country since the 12-year conflict began.Iraq and Syria have had close relations for years even after many Arab countries withdrew their ambassadors for Damascus and Syria’s membership in the 22-member Arab League was suspended because of the crackdown on protesters in 2011.Assad received Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, who was heading a high-ranking delegation, at the presidential palace in Damascus. They discussed mutual relations and cooperation between the two neighboring countries among other issues, according to the office of Syria’s president.Al-Sudani’s office said in a statement that talks revolved around ways of expanding cooperation in the fields of trade, economy, transportation, tourism, how to combat climate change and collaboration to fight terrorism.Security cooperation against extremist groups was likely to be on to...

Man stabbed to death in Uptown: CPD

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:57 GMT

CHICAGO -- A man was found stabbed to death in Uptown Saturday night, police said.This will have been the second stabbing in Uptown this year, the first happened Friday.According to police, the victim was found in the 4600 block of North Sheridan Road around 7:40 p.m. with multiple stab wounds to the body. 5 people shot, 1 fatally, in Garfield Park drive-by: CPD He was transported to Illinois Masonic Hospital in critical condition. He was pronounced dead shortly after.There is currently no one in custody and police are investigating the incident.

A few days of record heat

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:57 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- A few showers showed up on radar during the 6 a.m. hour. The rain fell mainly in eastern Lampasas County south to northeast Burnet County. There were a few small showers over northwest San Saba County north of Richland Springs. Saturday's high temperature in Austin was 107°. It brings the average temperature for the first 15 days of July to 90.1°, keeping it as the second hottest start to a July 1st to 15th. The record was set last year when the first 15 days of the seventh month yielded an average temperature of 90.7°.Forecast highs today will range from 102° to 106° for many locations. The normal high today is 97°. Most highs today will be a degree lower than Saturday'sMost of the area is under a Heat Advisory until 9 p.m. Blanco and Gillespie Counties do not have this heat alert.The highest heat index Saturday was 108° at Cameron and Camp Mabry. Expect the maximum heat indices this afternoon to rise to between 104° and 108°.Sunday's top heat indicesOne thing that...

VIDEO: Foxes spotted near St. Edward's University

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:57 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — On Friday, a KXAN viewer said she saw a family of foxes playing on the St. Edward's University campus.“I witnessed a treat this morning at work on campus. This family of grey foxes played in the street for 30 minutes,” Danielle Ostos, the viewer who filmed the foxes, said.According to the Texas Wildlife Association, there are three types of foxes that live in Texas: Swift or Kit Fox: Lives in the northwestern part of the stateRed Fox: Lives in the eastern and central parts of the stateGray Fox: Found statewide and is the most commonTWA said depending on the type, foxes could live anywhere from three to 10 years.According to TWA, foxes can have anywhere from one to seven babies, or kits, usually an average of three to four kits per litter in the springtime."After about three months, they will come out of the dens and learn to hunt for their own food by watching their mother," TWA said. "The kits are born in the spring and will stay together until fall when they will g...