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Biden administration suspends satellite monitoring of Colombian coca crops amid surge in cocaine

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:12:44 GMT

MIAMI (AP) — The Biden administration has quietly ditched a key gauge used for decades to measure success in the war on drugs, suspending satellite monitoring of coca crops in Colombia amid a surge of cocaine production in South America. A State Department spokesperson said the move was “temporary” but gave no timeframe for data collection to resume or explain why it was suspended in the first place. It was also unclear whether satellite surveys would continue in Peru and Bolivia, which together account for about half of coca production in the Andean region.The move, first reported by Colombia’s El Tiempo newspaper, has drawn outrage from Republicans in Congress from Florida, who have been threatening to decertify Colombia’s government for failing to cooperate in U.S. anti-narcotics efforts. But it tracks with leftist Colombian President Gustavo Petro’s efforts to refocus law enforcement efforts away from the rural backwaters where coca is grown to instead chase large-sc...

B.C. drought update highlights low stream flows, vast areas of drought

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:12:44 GMT

VANCOUVER — A report on drought conditions from British Columbia’s River Forecast Centre says the combination of record heat in May followed by early snow melt and persistently low levels of precipitation has parched much of the province.The report by hydrologist Jonathan Boyd says most of B.C. has received rainfall over the past year between 40 per cent and 85 per cent of annual average precipitation.It says stream flows measured this week at some rivers on Vancouver Island and in northwestern B.C. are at the highest drought-level category, Level 5, while other major rivers in the Interior and Kootenays are getting close.Emergency Management and Climate Readiness Minister Bowinn Ma highlighted the findings in a drought status update today.Earlier this week, she urged B.C. residents to take measures to conserve water, including watering lawns sparingly, taking shorter showers and only doing laundry with a full load.Premier David Eby and Ma have both said the situation is serio...

Labor rift deepens between Republican governor and dockworkers in South Carolina

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:12:44 GMT

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Dockworkers and the governor in the state with the lowest percentage of unionized workers are digging in their heels over a labor dispute that has left the newest container terminal at the East Coast’s deepest harbor largely inactive.Pending before a federal appeals court is a National Labor Relations Board decision that upheld unionized dockworkers’ right to exclusively staff the cranes at Hugh K. Leatherman Terminal in Charleston, South Carolina, under a 2012 master contract.The alternative is a so-called hybrid model implemented by other South Carolina terminals backed by Republican Gov. Henry McMaster where loading operations would be fulfilled by employees from both the state and the International Longshoremen’s Association Local 1422.But union organizers find much more at stake than the availability of higher-paying jobs and the resumed operations of the project’s recently completed $1 billion first phase. They fear a reversal could set ...

Railway container shipments plummet due to B.C. port strike that’s poised to end

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:12:44 GMT

MONTREAL — Railways suffered a sharp drop-off in container shipments this month as the strike by B.C. port workers — now poised to end after a tentative deal Thursday — halted more than half of steel-box cargo.Canadian National Railway Co.’s revenue ton miles — a key industry metric used to gauge income and freight volume — fell 60 per cent in the first week of the job action, according to RBC Dominion Securities analyst Walter Spracklin.The figure dropped by 45 per cent at Canadian Pacific Kansas City Ltd.The plunge left the number of containers hauled by Canadian railways last week at barely half the level it reached during the same period in 2022, according to the American Railroad Association.The corrugated metal boxes, which carry everything from consumer products to auto parts, mark a critical source of cash for Canada’s two main railways, comprising roughly one-quarter of annual revenue.But railways, a land lifeline for the ports, breathed a sigh of relief Thursda...

Meteorologists say Earth sizzled to a global heat record in June and July has been getting hotter

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:12:44 GMT

An already warming Earth steamed to its hottest June on record, smashing the old global mark by nearly a quarter of a degree (0.13 degrees Celsius), with global oceans setting temperature records for the third straight month, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced Thursday. June’s 61.79 degrees (16.55 degrees Celsius) global average was 1.89 degrees (1.05 degrees Celsius) above the 20th Century average, the first time globally a summer month was more than a degree Celsius hotter than normal, according to NOAA. Other weather monitoring systems, such as NASA, Berkeley Earth and Europe’s Copernicus, had already called last month the hottest June on record, but NOAA is the gold standard for record-keeping with data going back 174 years to 1850.The increase over the last June’s record is “a considerably big jump” because usually global monthly records are so broad based they often jump by hundredths not quarters of a degree, said NOAA climate...

Man working on US-Canada bridge survives plunge into Detroit River

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:12:44 GMT

DETROIT (AP) — A man survived after plunging 150 feet (45.7 meters) into the Detroit River from a bridge connecting Michigan and Canada.The man, identified as a contractor who was working on the Ambassador Bridge, was rescued Wednesday by a crew aboard a Detroit mail delivery boat.“The force of the impact had ripped most of his clothes off of him,” Sam Buchanan, captain of the J.W. Westcott, told Fox 2 Detroit. “His work boots were still on him and his pants were around his ankles and he had his T-shirt on.”Buchanan said the man was ferried to shore where Detroit paramedics took over.“We were relieved that he could talk to us, but he was pretty out of it,” Buchanan said. “He kept asking us what happened to him and we told him that he fell off the bridge.”Detroit Fire Chief James Harris said people who were fishing saw the man in the water and alerted the J.W. Westcott. The man’s name was not released.“He’s very fortunate,” Harris said.The Associated Press

35 world pianists will compete in Poland at the 2nd Chopin piano competition on period instruments

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:12:44 GMT

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Thirty-five participants from around the world will compete in Poland’s 2nd Frederic Chopin piano competition on period instruments in October, the organizers said Thursday. The competition, launched in 2018, is intended to promote historically informed performance of the 19th century Polish composer’s works and to get as close as possible to the original sound of his music. Like the century-old renowned International Chopin Piano Competition, this one also meant to promote music talents and help launch international careers. The participants this year come from 14 countries, including 10 pianists from Japan, six from Poland and four from Italy. China, South Korea, the United States and Russia will be represented by two participants each. There will also be one participant from each of the following countries: Australia, Austria, France, Spain, Canada, Germany and Hungary. The contestants in the three-stage event will perform on historic Erard, Pleyel or ...

Toronto man charged for attempting to lure underage children online

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:12:44 GMT

A 36-year-old Toronto man is facing charges for attempting to lure underage children online. Peel police say the Internet Child Exploitation Unit opened an investigation in April 2023 after it became aware of a person using social media to attempt to lure children under the age of 16 for sexual purposes. Last month, Shawn Collinge was identified and arrested. He’s been charged with luring a child under the age of 16. Investigators say he utilized the following username across multiple social media platforms: ‘Shawn Collinge’ and ‘Shawn.collinge.39’ and that there may be further victims he attempted to contact online. Anyone with information is asked to contact police.

Liam Hendriks delivers emotional speech at ESPYs

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:12:44 GMT

LOS ANGELES — It's been an emotional year for the White Sox closer, with Wednesday night being another moment in that journey for the White Sox closer. That's when Liam Hendriks was presented with the Jimmy V Award at the 2023 ESPY Awards at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. Named after late North Carolina State head coach Jim Valvano, it's given to an athlete that overcomes "obstacles through perseverance and determination."This comes after Hendriks beat Stage 4 non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and returned to the White Sox on Memorial Day at Guaranteed Rate Field. Naturally, he had plenty to say about his journey in an emotional, inspiring speech to the audience on Wednesday that was filled with some of the biggest stars in sports. ‘Extremely surreal’: Liam & Kristi Hendriks discuss White Sox return – and effort to help others beat cancer "Cancer changes you. There's no doubt about it. Going through this, it changed me for the better. There's a lot of times where I'm sitting out here...

Illinois is #2 worst state in U.S. for drought - a county-by-county conditions breakdown

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:12:44 GMT

Over a quarter of the continental U.S. is currently experiencing moderate to exceptional drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.While the West is currently experiencing a brief reprieve from its driest period of the last 1,200 years—other parts of the country, like the Central U.S., are experiencing spells of unusual dryness.In periods of drought, levels of major reservoirs and rivers can fall dramatically. Groundwater systems too feel the effects, and shrinking water supplies impact agriculture, hydropower generation, and wildfire risk.Periods of drought have intensified and become more frequent in recent years due to climate change. Scientists predict that even in low emissions scenarios, much of the U.S. will be drier by the end of the century.Stacker cited data from U.S. Drought Monitor to identify the counties in Illinois with the worst droughts in the week leading up to July 05, 2023. Counties are listed in order of percent of the area in drought conditions. Abnormally...