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New Mexico extends ban on oil and gas leasing around Chaco park, an area sacred to Native Americans

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:45:00 GMT

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — New oil and natural gas leasing will be prohibited on state land surrounding Chaco Culture National Historical Park, an area sacred to Native Americans, for the next 20 years under an executive order by New Mexico Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard.Wednesday’s order extends a temporary moratorium that she put in place when she took office in 2019. It covers more than 113 square miles (293 square kilometers) of state trust land in what is a sprawling checkerboard of private, state, federal and tribal holdings in northwestern New Mexico.The U.S. government last year adopted its own 20-year moratorium on new oil, gas and mineral leasing around Chaco, following a push by pueblos and other Southwestern tribal nations that have cultural ties to the high desert region.Garcia Richard said during a virtual meeting Thursday with Native American leaders and advocates that the goal is to stop encroachment of development on Chaco and the tens of thousands o...

South Carolina’s 76-year-old governor McMaster to undergo procedure to fix minor irregular heartbeat

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:45:00 GMT

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster plans to be put under anesthesia Friday to fix a minor irregular heartbeat, his office said.The 76-year-old governor is being treated for atrial fibrillation where some chambers of the heart beat out of sync with the others, his office said in a statement Thursday afternoon.McMaster underwent a similar procedure nearly two years ago. His cardiologist Dr. Amy Rawl Epps said the elective procedure should take about two to three hours.She called it relatively simple and said the governor has undergone extensive tests that show his heart appears normal and has “no evidence of significant coronary artery disease,” according to a statement from McMaster’s office.If the procedure is successful, McMaster can return home in hours, the doctor said.But since he is being put under, McMaster is letting Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette know. According to the state constitution, the lieutenant governor can act as the governor in an emergency if ...

Gildan shareholders seek CEO reinstatement, allege ‘grievous error’ by board

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:45:00 GMT

MONTREAL — Two of Gildan Activewear Inc.’s shareholders are demanding its former chief executive be reappointed to the company’s top post.In letters sent to Gildan’s board of directors, Browning West LP and Turtle Creek Asset Management Inc. called for the Montreal-based apparel maker to reinstate Glenn Chamandy to the board and his prior CEO post.Earlier this month, Gildan co-founder Chamandy said he was terminated without cause after four decades with the company. He is due to be replaced by Vince Tyra.Browning West LP, an investment partnership with a 3.9 per cent stake in Gildan, said it believes the company’s share price was poised to grow by at least 80 per cent over the next two years under Chamandy’s leadership. Turtle Creek said the board’s abrupt termination of Chamandy, which it called a “grievous error,” appeared to have been done in haste without meaningful shareholder engagement or consideration of the impact it would hav...

Driver charged after fatally striking pedestrian in Etobicoke last month

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:45:00 GMT

A Toronto driver is facing charges after he struck a pedestrian who later died from their injuries in hospital.Emergency crews were called to the area of Kipling Avenue and Ronson Drive, just north of Hwy. 401, around 6:20 a.m. on Nov. 7 after getting reports that a pedestrian was struck.According to police, a grey 2006 Kia was travelling southbound on Kipling Avenue when it struck a pedestrian crossing the street in the south crosswalk.A man in his 30s was rushed to a hospital in life-threatening condition. He died two days later.The driver involved in the crash initially left the scene but later returned.On Thursday, police arrested 56-year-old Samir Titouh of Toronto. He’s been charged with failing to stop at a scene of an accident causing death and criminal negligence causing death.He attended court earlier this morning.

Woman wanted after attempted child abduction in Annex area

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:45:00 GMT

Police are searching for a woman wanted in an attempted child abduction investigation.Investigators say a father and child were walking to a daycare in the area of Bloor Street West and Spadina Avenue around 8 a.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 13 when an unknown woman approached them and started yelling while attempting to grab the child. Police say the father was able to pick up the child and called for help. The woman continued to yell and follow the father and child down the street towards the daycare. When they arrived, the woman asked the child to leave with her. When the father confronted her, she fled the scene.The woman was last seen wearing a black leather jacket with a green hood, dark blue jeans, black gloves, black running shoes, white socks, and a blue toque.

Xcel Energy fined $14,000 after leaks of radioactive tritium from its Monticello plant in Minnesota

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:45:00 GMT

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Xcel Energy has been fined $14,000 related to leaks of radioactive tritium from its nuclear power plant at Monticello, Minnesota regulators announced Thursday.The relatively small fine was not for the leaks themselves, but because Xcel started pumping contaminated groundwater into a temporary storage tank before it had the necessary permit in place, which it later obtained. It’s the only fine that the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency has levied against Xcel over the leaks, agency spokesman Stephen Mikkelson said. The Monticello plant is about 40 miles (64 kilometers) northwest of Minneapolis, upstream from the city on the Mississippi River.Xcel had already installed and filled more than 20 temporary tanks when MPCA staff informed the company in March of 2023 that adding an additional tank would require a permit because it would raise their total capacity over 1 million gallons (3.8 million liters) to just over 1.4 million gallons (5.3 million liters). But ...

Ottawa should set deadline to clear immigration backlogs: House of Commons committee

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:45:00 GMT

OTTAWA — Members of the House of Commons immigration committee say the government should set a deadline to clear immigration application backlogs and appoint an ombudsperson to hold the department accountable. The committee has released a substantial report on immigration backlogs that includes 40 recommendations to ease the waits for potential newcomers.As of the end of October, the Immigration Department had more than 963,000 applications in the backlog, which represents 43 per cent of all applications in the system.The committee says the government should set a deadline to clear the backlog and allow people to see the status of their case online. The committee is also echoing decades-long calls for an ombudsperson to oversee the department, supervise processing times and order changes as needed. A majority of MPs on the committee is asking for more resources to be put toward processing applications and answering questions from applicants, though Conservatives said in an addendum ...

Home of Tampa Bay Rays eyes name change, but team says it would threaten stadium deal

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:45:00 GMT

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — They began as the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in 1998, then shortened their name in 2007 to simply Tampa Bay Rays. Now, as plans for a new ballpark take shape, there’s talk about changing the name again to reflect the team’s actual location: the St. Petersburg Rays.The St. Petersburg City Council debated the possibility Thursday, ultimately voting for a resolution seeking options to elevate the city’s prominence with the MLB team that could include a name change. Council member Gina Driscoll said she brought the idea forward because many constituents think Tampa Bay really just means the city of Tampa.“I think we owe it to our residents to have a discussion about this,” Driscoll said.It is not something the Rays want, team co-president Brian Auld told the council, suggesting such a requirement could torpedo the entire $6.5 billion ballpark and downtown redevelopment project that includes affordable housing, a Black history museum, a hotel...

US agency concludes chemical leak that killed 6 Georgia poultry workers was `completely preventable’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:45:00 GMT

A chemical leak that killed six workers at a Georgia poultry plant in 2021 resulted from a poorly designed freezer that spilled deadly liquid nitrogen as well as a failure by the plant’s owner to install safety equipment and properly train employees for emergencies, a federal agency has concluded.“This needless and senseless tragedy was completely preventable,” U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board Chairman Steve Owens said in a statement accompanying a 116-page report by the agency’s investigators.A freezer used to instantly freeze chicken at the Foundation Food Group plant in Gainesville, Georgia, overflowed with liquid nitrogen that spilled into the surrounding room on Jan. 28, 2021. On contact with the air, the chemical vaporized into an odorless gas, forming a cloud up to 5 feet (1.5 meters) high.Two workers who were performing maintenance on the freezer died from asphyxiation, the agency said, and four more were killed as other employees tried to resc...

Ed Burke trial: Closing arguments continue Thursday; jury deliberations likely to begin next week

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:45:00 GMT

CHICAGO — Closing arguments in the Ed Burke trial continued Thursday, with prosecutors making theirs for the second day and defense attorneys just beginning theirs.And, in a show of support, Chris Kennedy, the son of Robert F. Kennedy, exchanged a handshake and pleasantries with Burke.Prosecutors spent nearly seven hours explaining to jurors at the Dirksen Federal Building how they believe burke is “thoroughly corrupt” and guilty “beyond a reasonable doubt," while defense attorneys only began their closing arguments, claiming the case amounts to a lot of smoke but no real fire.In day two of her closing argument, Assistant U.S. Attorney Diane MacArthur presented an exhaustive review of the evidence against Burke, the former alderman accused of using his public office to enrich his private business and gain personal favors. Closing arguments in Ed Burke trial Wednesday Burke, the longest serving member of the City Council, is charged with 14 counts of racketeering, bribery and extor...