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Pollution in Venezuela’s Lake Maracaibo threatens life in one of the world’s oldest lakes

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:34:43 GMT

MARACAIBO, Venezuela (AP) — The fishermen of Lake Maracaibo say they face their worst nightmare everyday as fish stocks decline and pollution degrades the health of this great freshwater lake, one of the oldest — and largest — in the world.Lake Maracaibo, which once was at the heart of Venezuela’s oil boom, has turned into a polluted wasteland, according to environmentalists.The pollution of the lake, located about 600 kilometers (372 miles) west of the capital, Caracas, is the result of decades of excessive oil exploitation, poor maintenance of the obsolete infrastructure and a lack of waste treatment plants in the area. Tens of thousands of kilometers of pipes lie at its bottom, where crude oil leaks and system failures are frequent.The lake, which collects rainwater from more than a hundred tributaries, has also become the wastewater deposit for the western states of Zulia, Mérida and Trujillo, where 5.3 million people live. Waste from the Colombian department of Norte de S...

Dutch journalist leaves Russia after her visa was not renewed

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:34:43 GMT

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Russian authorities refused to renew the visa for Dutch journalist Eva Hartog, who has lived and worked in the country for 10 years, and gave her six days to leave Russia, she said in a column published Wednesday. Her effective expulsion is one of several in recent years and comes amid a monthslong crackdown that the Kremlin has unleashed on independent journalists, critical news outlets, opposition activists and human rights groups. The pressure has mounted further since Moscow launched its war on Ukraine almost 18 months ago. Hartog, a Dutch national, has in recent years been writing for the Dutch news magazine De Groene Amsterdammer and for Politico Europe. She first came to Moscow in 2013, Politico reported on Wednesday, and worked as a web editor and then chief editor for The Moscow Times. Hartog said in a column in De Groene Amsterdammer published Wednesday that Russia’s Foreign Ministry informed her last Monday her visa would not be renewed and g...

Stock market today: Wall Street holds relatively steady a day after its latest tumble for August

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:34:43 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street is drifting Wednesday and stocks are mixed a day after their latest tumble in what’s been a messy August.The S&P 500 was 0.4% lower in afternoon trading, tacking a bit more onto its prior day’s loss of 1.2%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gave up an early gain and fell 81 points, or 0.2%, at 34,864, as of 1:10 p.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.8% lower.Retailers Target and TJX, the company behind T.J. Maxx and Marshalls, were pushing upward on the market. Target rose 3.5%, and TJX climbed 4.4% after both reported stronger profit for the spring than analysts expected.They were working to offset a drop of 3.8% for Brinker International, owner of the Chili’s chain. It also reported stronger profit than expected, but its revenue fell short of forecasts.Wall Street has generally been retrenching this month on several concerns, including worries that torrid gains made this year through July were overdone and that interest rates...

US sanctions Lebanese environmental group accused of being an arm of Hezbollah

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:34:43 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States imposed sanctions Wednesday on a Lebanese environmental organization accused of being an arm of the militant group Hezbollah.The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control designated Green Without Borders and its leader, Zouher Nahli, for allegedly providing support and cover to Hezbollah in southern Lebanon along the “Blue Line” between Lebanon and Israel “while operating under the guise of environmental activism.”The Treasury says Green Without Border’s outposts are manned by Hezbollah operatives, serving as cover for the militant group’s warehouses and munitions tunnels. Workers at the outposts have allegedly prevent U.N. peacekeepers in Lebanon from accessing areas which the United Nations has authority to access. Green Without Border is a nongovernmental organization established in 2013. It says it aims to protect Lebanon’s green areas and plant trees.“We are not an arm for anyone,” Nahli told The Associated Press in J...

Death toll rises to 25 as Dominican firefighters find more bodies in this week’s explosion

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:34:43 GMT

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) — The death toll from a powerful explosion in the Dominican Republic this week rose to 25 on Wednesday, with firefighters still trying to extinguish the ongoing blaze, a high-ranking Civil Defense official told The Associated Press on Wednesday.The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media, said the number of missing remains at 10 because forensic officials are still trying to determine whether the additional bodies found correspond to those missing.The emergency responders still have not been able to fully access the building where the explosion occurred Monday at a bakery in the city of San Cristobal, which lies just west of the capital of Santo Domingo.Anguished friends and family have been pacing outside hospitals and morgues in anger and frustration, saying no one has been providing them information.Meanwhile, authorities are probing what might have caused the explosion, vowing to cra...

60-year-old woman struck, killed in Evanston

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:34:43 GMT

EVANSTON, Ill. — A 60-year-old woman was struck and killed Tuesday night in Evanston.Just after 9:35 p.m., authorities responded to the 1300 block of Central Street on the report of a crash involving a pedestrian.Police said 60-year-old Rabia Ahmed, of Lincolnwood, was attempting to cross the roadway mid-block when she was struck.The driver of the vehicle, a 65 year-old man, of Skokie, was not injured and he remained at the scene.Ahmen was transported to Northshore Evanston where she was pronounced dead. Highland Park High School set to roll out new weapon detection system on first day of school The NORTAF Major Crash Assistance Team (MCAT) was activated to assist with the crash investigation.Anyone with information about the crash can contact police at 847-866-5079.

Bears have a unique 2 days of preseason practice ahead

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:34:43 GMT

LAKE FOREST, Ill. — It's a way to break up the monotony of preseason workouts while also giving the coaching staff a look at their players in a different environment. One way or the other, the next two days are going to be unique for the Bears. That's because the team is taking their practice on the road against a different team, making the short trip to the Indianapolis area for joint workouts with the Colts ahead of their preseason game on Saturday night.It's the first time the Bears have held training camp workouts with another team since the Dolphins came to Halas Hall in August 2021 in the final year of the Matt Nagy era. You have to go back even farther the last time the Bears hit the road for joint practices in the preseason. That was in 2016 when then head coach John Fox had the Bears workout with the Patriots in Foxborough before a preseason game at Gillette Stadium. The year before, they did the same in Indianapolis as they worked out with the Colts who were then coached b...

Man and woman robbed at gunpoint in Lincoln Park: police

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:34:43 GMT

CHICAGO — A man and woman were robbed at gunpoint in the city's Lincoln Park neighborhood.The robbery happened around 2:30 a.m. Wednesday in the 2400 block of North Ashland Avenue. Police said officers responded to the scene and spoke with a man and woman who were robbed at gunpoint by two people.According to police, the victims handed over their personal belongings and the offenders fled in a gray SUV. At least 2 injured during shooting outside funeral home on South Side: fire officials No injuries were reported.No one is in custody. Area Three Detectives are investigating.

72 people, 15 pets moved from West Bouldin Creek homeless encampment to Southbridge Shelter

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:34:43 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- A homeless encampment in the West Bouldin Creek area has been formally declared closed after 72 people and 15 pets were relocated from the encampment to the Southbridge Shelter, according to the City of Austin.The people and pets were relocated from the encampment as part of the Housing-Focused Encampment Assistance Link, or HEAL Initiative, a release from the City of Austin said.Austin Mayor Kirk Watson said during a Tuesday press conference on wildfire preparation that the city has been "paying specific attention" to homeless encampments and taking precautionary measures in wildfire prevention through relocating people staying at encampments into shelters. Watson said these efforts are because 90% of wildfires are caused by people and are preventable. MORE: ‘Only going to get worse’: Local leaders issue local disaster declaration amid wildfire danger According to the release, HEAL carries out the closures of homeless encampments that pose the highest public hea...

Enjoy food, music, bouncy houses at Ballston Spa Family Fun Day

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:34:43 GMT

BALLSTON SPA, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- The Village of Ballston Spa is holding its annual Family Fun Day on Sunday, August 20. Front Street will be filled with more than 10 bouncy houses, carnival games, crafts, and food. Get the latest news, weather, sports and entertainment delivered right to your inbox! Quiet hours will be from 10 a.m. to noon for those with sensory sensitivities and the main event will be from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. A free concert by The Refrigerators at Iron Spring Park will be at 6 p.m.A prize booth will have school supplies available for students for the upcoming school year. Mayor Frank Rossi, Trustee Bernadette VanDeinse-Perez, and Planning Board Chair Rory O’Connor also volunteered to be in a dunk-tank booth."Ballston Spa so cherishes its children and families. Family Fun Day celebrates just that by providing a free opportunity to enjoy the day," said Mayor Rossi. "Family vacations and days at the fair and amusement park are becoming more cost prohibitive; this is why ...