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Brazil’s Amazon rainforest faces a severe drought that may affect around 500,000 people

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:35:25 GMT

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — The Amazon rainforest in Brazil is facing a severe drought that may affect around 500,000 people by the end of the year, authorities said Tuesday. Many are already struggling to access essential supplies such as food and water, because the principal means of transportation in the region is waterways, and river levels are historically low. Droughts also impact fishing, a means of subsistence for many riverside communities.Amazonas state declared an environmental emergency two weeks ago in response to the prolonged drought and launched a response plan valued at $20 million. Authorities will also distribute food and water supplies as well as personal hygiene kits, the state’s civil defense agency said in a statement.Gov. Wilson Lima was in Brazil’s capital, Brasilia, on Tuesday to meet with representatives of the federal government. Lima spoke with President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to discuss the drought.The different levels of government will “coordinate measur...

14-year-old charged with murder alongside two high schoolers in shooting that killed three teens

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:35:25 GMT

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A 14-year-old suspect has been arrested in connection with a weekend shooting over a yearslong squabble that left three teenagers dead and another injured in the capital city of South Carolina, officials said Tuesday.The youth joins two 17-year-old suspects, all charged with three counts of murder and one of attempted murder, according to the Richland County Sheriff’s Department. The two older boys will be tried as adults, according to the department, and a judge will decide whether the 14-year-old’s case stays in juvenile court.Two people opened fire Sunday afternoon outside an abandoned house, killing three Eau Claire High School students and wounding a fourth middle schooler, 14, according to officials. The two older suspects attended the same high school as the three deceased victims, whose ages ranged from 16 to 17 years old. The 14-year-old suspect went to the same middle school as the lone survivor, according to Deputy Veronica Hill, a public...

Breanna Stewart edges Alyssa Thomas and A’ja Wilson for WNBA MVP award in tight race

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:35:25 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Breanna Stewart earned the WNBA’s Most Valuable Player award for the second time in her career Tuesday in a very close race.There were only 13 points separating Stewart from second-place finisher Alyssa Thomas of Connecticut and last year’s MVP A’ja Wilson of Las Vegas. Stewart received 446 points (20 first-place votes, 23 second-place votes and 17 third-place votes). Thomas had 439 points (23, 12 and 25). Wilson received 433 points (17, 25, 17 and 1).With Stewart and Thomas separated by seven points, this marks the second-smallest margin between the first- and second-place finishers in the history of the award. The closest finish was a two-point difference between Sheryl Swoopes and Lauren Jackson in 2005.The 13 points separating Stewart and Wilson represent the smallest margin between first- and third-place vote-getters for MVP in WNBA history, surpassing the 45-point difference in 2013 between Candace Parker and Elena Delle Donne.“It hurt like he...

Brazil slows Amazon deforestation, but in Chico Mendes’ homeland, it risks being too late

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:35:25 GMT

BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) — Luzineide Marques da Silva knows the location of each of the 748 rubber trees scattered in her area of the Brazilian Amazon, where she and her family hold rights to tap the trees for latex to sell to a sneaker manufacturer. So she watched in pain and anger last week as two of them were badly damaged by a fire she said was started by one of the land-grabbers encroaching on her territory.“I see the fire engulfing my rubber trees, and I feel as if I myself were being murdered right there,” Silva told The Associated Press in an interview. “He’s burning down the trees from which I earn my livelihood, and I cherish them so much.”After nine months in office, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has halved Amazon deforestation, which reached a 15-year high under predecessor Jair Bolsonaro, and has promised to promote development that makes sustainable use of its resources.But progress has been uneven, and in the symbolic Chico Mendes Extractive Reserve, it could be to...

Canada’s House speaker resigns over inviting a man who fought for a Nazi unit to Parliament

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:35:25 GMT

TORONTO (AP) — The speaker of Canada’s House of Commons resigned Tuesday for inviting a man who fought for a Nazi military unit during World War II to Parliament to attend a speech by the Ukrainian president. Just after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy delivered an address in the House of Commons on Friday, Canadian lawmakers gave 98-year-old Yaroslav Hunka a standing ovation when Speaker Anthony Rota drew attention to him. Rota introduced Hunka as a war hero who fought for the First Ukrainian Division.Observers over the weekend began to publicize the fact that the First Ukrainian Division also was known as the Waffen-SS Galicia Division, or the SS 14th Waffen Division, a voluntary unit that was under the command of the Nazis.“No one in this House is above any of us. Therefore I must step down as your speaker,” Rota said in Parliament. “I reiterate my profound regret for my error in recognizing an individual in the House during the joint address to Parliament of President Zel...

US international Reggie Cannon joins English club Queens Park Rangers

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:35:25 GMT

LONDON (AP) — United States international Reggie Cannon has joined English second-tier team Queen’s Park Rangers on a four-year contract, the club said Tuesday. Cannon was allowed to sign outside of the transfer window because he was a free agent after leaving Portuguese club Boavista in June. “I have always wanted to play in England, this is an incredible opportunity to show what I can do,” the 25-year-old defender said. “I have always wanted to attack overseas football because I think that is where the best players are, and that is how you find your better game and develop, so I really think this will help me achieve the best that I can be as a footballer.”Cannon previously played for FC Dallas and joined Boavista in 2020. QPR plays in the English second division and was last in the Premier League in the 2014-15 season. The club said the transfer was subject to approval by FIFA, the FA and English Football League. Cannon will also need to receive international clearanc...

4-year-old boy receives groundbreaking gene therapy treatment for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy in Orlando

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:35:25 GMT

Groundbreaking gene therapy provided by a hospital in Central Florida changed the life of a little boy.The 4-year-old suffers from Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy or DMD, which is a disease that causes progressive loss of muscle mass.He received a one time treatment called Elevidy’s at Nemours Children’s Hospital in Orlando.“This is the first time where we’re able to actually treat the underlying cause of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. We’re able to replace the missing gene in a substantive way,” said Dr. Omer Abdul Hamid, a pediatric neurologist at Nemours Children’s hospital. “It’s really been a game-changer for our families and the community as a whole.”“I’ve been looking forward to getting Jaxson’s gene therapy and I am just grateful that its here,” said Angela Ramirez, the boy’s mother. According to experts, an estimated 20,000 children are diagnosed with Duchenne globally each year. With the ad...

Nonprofit creates custom playground for Hialeah boy battling cancer

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:35:25 GMT

A nonprofit gifted four-year-old Justin Henandez, who is courageously fighting neuroblastoma, his very own custom playground right in his Hialeah home.The nonprofit organization, Roc Solid Foundation, is dedicated to empowering families facing childhood cancer by bringing the joy of play into their lives, a vital aspect often compromised during grueling cancer treatments. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Roc Solid Foundation (@rocsolidfoundation)“It’s important to have this. Due to his illness, he has to be more careful,” Justin’s mother Yolexy Rosell said. “Having this in my house means more peace of mind for myself, for him, and that he’s going to be okay.”The Roc Solid Foundation has embarked on a mission to surprise thirty children battling cancer with playsets during the month of September, aligning with Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. Their mission is to provide solace and happiness to brave young warrio...

Judge rules Donald Trump defrauded banks, insurers as he built real estate empire

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:35:25 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — A judge has ruled that Donald Trump committed fraud for years while building the real estate empire that catapulted him to fame and the White House.Judge Arthur Engoron, ruling Tuesday in a civil lawsuit brought by New York’s attorney general, found that the former president and his company deceived banks, insurers and others by massively overvaluing his assets and exaggerating his net worth on paperwork used in making deals and securing financing.The decision, days before the start of a non-jury trial in Attorney General Letitia James’ lawsuit, is the strongest repudiation yet of Trump’s carefully coiffed image as a wealthy and shrewd real estate mogul turned political powerhouse.Beyond mere bragging about his riches, Trump, his company and key executives repeatedly lied about them on his annual financial statements, reaping rewards such as favorable loan terms and lower insurance premiums, Engoron found.

Bail revoked for man charged in deadly Hingham Apple Store crash

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:35:25 GMT

The man accused in connection with the deadly crash at an Apple store in Hingham last year has had his bail revoked after he failed to charge his GPS monitoring bracelet, the Plymouth County District Attorney’s office announced. The DA’s office said Bradley Rein, 54, was taken into custody on Monday. He appeared in court on Tuesday, according to the DA’s office, where a judge ordered his bail be revoked for 60 days. New developments in Rein’s case come months after the crash on November 21 in the Derby Shops plaza in Hingham. 65-year-old Kevin Bradley was ultimately pronounced dead at the scene, according to the DA’s office. More than 20 other people were injured. Subsequent indictments alleged Rein was behind the wheel when his car crashed through the front window of the Apple store. The DA’s office in a statement this week said preliminary investigations found Rein was accelerating his car up to 60 miles-per-hour in the five seconds before the crash, adding “th...