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Venezuela opposition envoy urges Biden to ease oil sanctions

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:25 GMT

MIAMI (AP) — The new representative of Venezuela’s opposition in the U.S. is urging the Biden administration to relax crippling oil sanctions on Nicolas Maduro’s government or risk seeing the socialist-run country turn into another Cuba with Washington scapegoated for increasing authoritarianism and economic hardships.Fernando Blasi’s comments to The Associated Press represent a sharp break from the opposition’s “maximum pressure campaign” of the past four years when it was relying on the U.S. to muscle Maduro out of power. The failure of that hardline approach led the opposition in January to oust the beleaguered former lawmaker Juan Guaidó from his role as “interim president,” a title he claimed as head of the National Assembly elected in 2015 — widely considered Venezuela’s last democratic vote. The opposition has replaced that arrangement with a more horizontal style of leadership of mostly exiled politicians. “If we continue down this path, Venezue...

Gulf of Mexico oil worse for climate than thought, study

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:25 GMT

Offshore oil and gas operations in the Gulf of Mexico are releasing far more climate-changing methane than official estimates show, according to a new study published Monday.Using data collected from aircraft in part, climate scientists found the additional methane coming from oil and gas platforms in shallow waters of the Gulf region raises their carbon intensity — the amount of climate-changing gas per unit of energy in the fuel — to twice as much as estimated by U.S. agencies like the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. The study is published in PNAS, the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.Reductions in both methane and carbon dioxide emissions are essential to lessen the future severity of climate change, the study notes. “You don’t have to travel halfway around the world to find unusually high emissions in oil and gas fields,” said Rob Jackson, a Stanford University climate scientist who was not involved in the study. “It’s happening right here in our backyard...

Veto stands: Transgender pronouns OK in North Dakota schools

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:25 GMT

Teachers in North Dakota can still refer to transgender students by the personal pronouns they use, after lawmakers on Monday failed to override the governor’s veto of a controversial bill to place restrictions on educators.House lawmakers fell short of the two-thirds majority needed to block the veto. This happened days after Republican Gov. Doug Burgum’s office announced the veto and the Senate overrode it.The bill would have prohibited public school teachers and employees from acknowledging the personal pronouns a transgender student uses, unless they received permission from the student’s parents as well as a school administrator.It would have also prohibited government agencies from requiring employees to acknowledge the pronouns a transgender colleagues uses.Republican lawmakers across the U.S. have drafted hundreds of laws this year to push back on LGBTQ+ freedoms, particularly seeking to regulate aspects of transgender people’s lives, including gender-affirming health care, ...

2 killed in construction accident at New York’s JFK Airport

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:25 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Two workers were killed in a construction accident at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport on Monday, officials said.The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which runs the airport, said the two workers got trapped under construction rubble at around 11 a.m.A spokesperson for the city Fire Department said it happened in a trench near the airport’s busy Terminal 7.Some 60 firefighters worked to remove the workers from the trench, the Fire Department said. Both workers were pronounced dead at the scene. Their names were not immediately released.The Port Authority said in a news release that it will conduct a thorough investigation.The Associated Press

Jalen Carter reportedly gets his day with the Bears

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:25 GMT

LAKE FOREST — One of the biggest names in the NFL Draft is making a visit to Halas Hall early this week.Per numerous reports, including Adam Schefter of ESPN and Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, defensive tackle Jalen Carter is visiting the Bears in Lake Forest on Monday as he continues his rounds before the draft on April 27-29. General manager Ryan Poles confirmed the team would have him for a visit at some point in April during his free agency news conference on March 16. Currently, the Bears hold the ninth selection in the draft after trading the No. 1 overall selection to the Panthers at the start of the new league year.He could be an option for the Bears if he falls that far since the team is in need of an impact defensive lineman as they continue to build the team under second year general manager Ryan Poles.However, there could be some hesitancy due to the legal trouble that Carter has had over the last month. On March 16, he just pleaded no contest to misdemeanor charges of rec...

CPD: 16-year-old boy shot in Back of the Yards

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:25 GMT

CHICAGO — A 16-year-old boy was shot while sitting in a car in the city's Back of the Yards neighborhood early Monday morning.Police say the boy was sitting in a vehicle in the 1500 block of West 52nd Street around 6:18 a.m. when an unknown individual fired shots into his vehicle. Joliet man dies after shooting in parking lot of children’s indoor playground According to police, the boy suffered a gunshot wound to the upper back and was transported to the University of Chicago Medical Center in critical condition. There were no other injuries reported and there is currently no one in custody at this time. Police are investigating the incident.

Schiff blasts DeSantis' 'cowardly' response to Trump's indictment

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:25 GMT

(The Hill) – Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) called out Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis's (R) "cowardly" response to former President Trump’s indictment last week in New York City. In a tweet after the indictment was announced on Thursday, DeSantis called the charges against Trump “un-American” and said his state would not assist in any extradition request of Trump, who is expected to voluntarily surrender this week. During an appearance on MSNBC’s “Inside with Jen Psaki,” Psaki asked Schiff, a member of a now-defunct House panel investigating the Jan 6., 2021 attack at the Capitol, about DeSantis' tweet. “He certainly knows better about the law. He knows what his obligation is to extradite someone who is accused of crime in another state. He’s not a stupid person and he understands this very well,” Schiff told Psaki. DeSantis graduated from Harvard Law School and was a lawyer in the Navy before being elected to Congress in 2012. Schiff, who officially launched his bid for retiring Sen. ...

Amber Alert: 12-year-old girl missing, last seen in Gonzales

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:25 GMT

Editor’s Note: The video above shows KXAN News Today’s top headlines for April 3, 2023.AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Texas Department of Public Safety issued an Amber Alert for a 12-year-old girl last seen Saturday in Gonzales on Monday.In partnership with the Gonzales Police Department, DPS said it believes Allyanna Hernandez is "in grave or immediate danger," after she was last seen walking at 8 a.m. in the 1600 block of St. Vincent St., in the town of Gonzales, located south of Interstate 10 on U.S. Highway 183 in Gonzales County.Allyanna Hernandez (Texas DPS Photo)Hernandez was last seen wearing glasses, a white blouse, bell-bottom blue jeans and white shoes. Police describe her as Hispanic, 5 feet tall, 90 pounds with blonde hair and brown eyes. Police say she may be traveling north from Gonzales. No information about a potential suspect was given in an email from DPS. If anyone has seen her, call the Gonzales Police Department at 830-672-8686 or dial 911.

Timberwolves are out of sync, and it’s affecting everything and everyone

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:25 GMT

During their past six quarters of play, the Timberwolves have looked eerily similar to the dysfunctional version of the team that took the floor for the first quarter of the season.The Lakers and Trail Blazers were two of the five NBA teams to log 25-plus transition points in a single game between Friday and Sunday. and both did so against Minnesota.The Wolves scored 43, 46 and 49 points over their past three second-half offensive performances — all losses. They averaged more than 18 turnovers per game in that span.It’s all a product of a lack of connectivity. The transition defense is easy to attribute to having two lumbering 7-footers sharing the court — and that probably is one of the reasons for it, but there’s more to it.Karl-Anthony Towns looks to be out of shape in his return from a calf strain . Anthony Edwards clearly isn’t himself in the energy department as he recovers from an illness. Their efforts in getting back on defense have left much to be desired...

Letters: Money to ‘screen for reading problems’? Isn’t this being done?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:25 GMT

Isn’t this being done?The “How would education funds be spent?” (PP 3/30) article leaves one to wonder what really transpires in the Minnesota educational system.  As usual, the devil (and truth) is in the details.One can argue with items such as “more counselors, social workers, school psychologists, and nurses” until the proverbial hell freezes over.  And one can argue about the equity efforts that show people in education management apparently believe different races are unequal in their abilities. Otherwise, why the emphasis on equity (equal outcomes)?One item, however, tells the whole story. “The bills … would invest … and require schools to screen for reading problems in kindergarten.” Isn’t this being done? If so, why do they need more money? This isn’t anything new — it was known 60 years ago.This should be the first exercise as students progress in the first few months. The ability to read is dependent ...