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France ordered to curb mass dolphin deaths in fishing nets

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:52 GMT

PARIS (AP) — France’s highest administrative body on Monday ordered the government to better protect endangered dolphins and porpoises in an industrial fishing hub in the Atlantic Ocean that has become controversial over links to mass deaths of the creatures in recent years.The move was welcomed by conservationists, who hope it could stop some species becoming extinct in the zone.The council of state gave government officials six months “to close areas of fishing in the Bay of Biscay for appropriate periods, in order to limit the number of deaths of common dolphins, bottlenose dolphins and harbor porpoises that are victims of accidental capture during fishing.”It also required them to compile a reliable estimate of the annual number of accidental catches.Government-affiliated scientists estimate that some 10,000 dolphins and porpoises are killed on average every year in that maritime zone of western France alone — one recent year recorded 18,000 deaths. They’re widely blamed o...

Will the Credit Suisse bank takeover calm financial fears?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:52 GMT

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — In a bid to ease turmoil in the world financial system, Swiss authorities engineered a plan for the UBS bank to acquire its troubled smaller rival Credit Suisse at a marked-down price.It’s another urgent attempt to fight fears that have put the financial world on edge 15 years after the failure of U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers pitched the global economy into a crisis.Here are key things to know — and some things that aren’t yet known — about the takeover and the wider market anxiety fueled by bank failures in the U.S.WHY IS UBS TAKING OVER CREDIT SUISSE?Swiss authorities pushed UBS to take over its rival after the price of Credit Suisse shares plunged and depositors fled, raising fears that it could fail.Credit Suisse isn’t just any bank. Unlike midsize Silicon Valley Bank, which went under earlier this month in the U.S., it is one of 30 banks classified as globally significant because it could pose a risk of bigger trouble if it co...

Six people missing in fatal Montreal fire are from U.S., Ontario, Quebec: police

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:52 GMT

MONTREAL — Firefighters on Monday began dismantling a historic building in Old Montreal that caught fire last week, where one body was pulled from the rubble and six people remain missing.“Following the preparation work done (Sunday), we will begin the work of dismantling the second and third floor (of the) structure,” Montreal fire operations chief Martin Guilbault said. “We also plan to continue searching through the rubble and attempt to locate and extricate additional victims.”At least seven people were reported missing after a fire swept through the building last Thursday. Montreal police say the body of a woman was pulled from the rubble Sunday evening.Insp. David Shane said earlier on Monday the police force’s fire unit used a drone to help locate the victim.“Using drones and a bucket truck, our police officers and firemen were able to have a look at the scene from high ground and they were able to locate the victim,” Shane said. R...

Rockford man charged in funeral van theft with dead body inside in custody: Brown County PD

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:52 GMT

BROWN COUNTY, Wis. — The Rockford man who was charged in the funeral van theft with a dead body inside earlier this year was taken into custody by the Brown County Police Department in Wisconsin Sunday morning. According to police reports, an officer conducted a traffic stop where a man and woman were in a vehicle. Police stated that the man was uncooperative in identifying himself. 2 fatally shot on Chicago’s South Side The man was positively identified as Deon Meshawn Howard, the 23-year-old man charged in the theft of a funeral home vehicle that had a dead body inside on January 21. Police say at the time of his arrest he was in possession of a stolen handgun out of Outagamie County.There is no further information at this time and WGN is actively following the incident.

3 convicted of murder in death of rapper XXXTentacion

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:52 GMT

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Three men were found guilty Monday of the 2018 killing of star rapper XXXTentacion, who was shot outside a South Florida motorcycle shop while being robbed of $50,000.Michael Boatwright, 28, Dedrick Williams, 26, and Trayvon Newsome, 24, were all found guilty of first-degree murder and armed robbery by a jury that deliberated a little more than seven days. They will receive mandatory life sentences at a later date.The defendants showed little emotion as each stood and was handcuffed by a bailiff.During the monthlong trial, prosecutors linked the men to the June 18, 2018, shooting outside Riva Motorsports in suburban Fort Lauderdale through extensive surveillance video taken inside and outside the store, plus cellphone videos they took that showed them flashing fistfuls of $100 bills hours after the slaying.Prosecutors also had the testimony of a fourth man, Robert Allen, a former friend of the defendants who said he participated in the robbery. He pleade...

House Republicans seek testimony from Manhattan DA on Trump hush money probe

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:52 GMT

(The Hill) -- A trio of Republican House chairmen is demanding testimony from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg ahead of his potential prosecution of former President Donald Trump in connection with hush money payments made ahead of the 2016 election.The letter to Bragg comes after Trump claimed over the weekend he could be arrested as soon as Tuesday and asked his supporters to prepare to protest on his behalf.It comes before Bragg has even officially made any decision on charging Trump with a crime, and raised concerns among Democrats who said the GOP was inappropriately interfering with the investigation.The GOP lawmakers cited Trump’s announced bid for office in 2024 in asking for documents and communication about the probe. They said Bragg should sit for an interview “as soon as possible.”“Your actions will erode confidence in the evenhanded application of justice and unalterably interfere in the course of the 2024 presidential election,” House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan ...

Amazon says it will lay off another 9,000 workers

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:52 GMT

(The Hill) -- Amazon CEO Andy Jassy announced Monday that the company will be laying off another 9,000 employees, marking the second round of significant layoffs this year. These cuts are in addition to the 18,000 layoffs Jassy announced in January, which had started in November. Jassy said in a memo to employees on Monday that most of the cuts will affect Amazon Web Services, People Experience and Technology Solutions, advertising and Twitch, which is a video livestreaming service."For several years leading up to this one, most of our businesses added a significant amount of headcount," Jassy wrote in a memo to employees. "This made sense given what was happening in our businesses and the economy as a whole.""However, given the uncertain economy in which we reside, and the uncertainty that exists in the near future, we have chosen to be more streamlined in our costs and headcount," he added. Silicon Valley Bank collapse hits tech world Jassy said the company did not announce t...

Woman without arms and legs doesn't want empathy – she wants a job

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:52 GMT

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) - Eight hours a day and six days a week, 48-year-old Lisa Olson searches for a job from her home in Virginia Beach. She has a master's degree in journalism from Regent University where she worked for 19 years. Ten years ago, the scene was dramatically different when she was interviewed by Nexstar's WAVY. "Hello, my name is Lisa Olson. I'm the Career Services and Quality Manager at Regent Univesity's Robertson School of Management and I am Hampton Roads," said Olson for the closing line in her segment. Last year, Olson joined the ranks of the unemployed when her position at Regent, a job she loved, was eliminated. Olson was hopeful the pandemic-inspired work-from-home trend would bode well for her since her daily routine requires a few extra steps. She has applied for about 400 jobs and has sat for some seventy interviews. Not one job has been offered. How to shop for new insurance if you lose Medicaid coverage "I have experienced quite significant rejec...

Man whose remains were found in West Virginia was professional rugby player from England

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:52 GMT

CHEAT LAKE, W.Va. (WBOY) — The man whose remains were found in a wooded area near West Virginia's Cheat Lake late last month has been identified, the Monongalia County Sheriff's Office said Monday.The remains were identified as Bryn Hargreaves, a professional rugby player who went missing in January of 2022. He was 36 at the time that he was reported missing. Hargreaves played rugby for the Bradford Bulls before he retired in 2012. He then moved to Pittsburgh after finding love with a girl in Mexico who was from the U.S. When they broke up, Hargreaves moved to north central West Virginia in 2017. Hargreaves' last known location was his apartment at the Whisper Creek Apartment Complex, off of South Pierpont Road in Monongalia County. “Where he lives, it’s amazing. But unfortunately, it’s so isolated. And that’s what’s happened, he became a recluse,” said Maria Andrews, Hargreaves' mother, who spoke to Nexstar's WBOY last year about the search for her son.She said she believ...

2 killed in Colorado avalanches just days apart

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:52 GMT

ASPEN, Colo. (KDVR) - A skier was killed in an avalanche outside Aspen Highlands, Colorado, on Sunday afternoon a day after authorities recovered the body of another avalanche victim, authorities said.According to the Pitkin County Sheriff's Office, three skiers were caught in Sunday's avalanche, which occurred in the Maroon Bowl area of Highland Peak, outside the ski boundary of Aspen Highlands. Two others were able to escape, and rescue teams were working to get them out of the area. The Colorado Avalanche Information Center said, "Maroon Bowl is a steep northwest-facing slope in the near treeline elevation band. The avalanche broke about 200 feet wide and ran approximately 5,000 vertical feet."No further details about the victim were immediately available. Skier killed in avalanche outside town of MarbleOn Friday, Joel Thomas Shute, 36, was buried in an avalanche southwest of the Colorado town of Marble in Upper Rapid Creek. His body was recovered Saturday.He was with two other m...