Associated Press BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Deforestation in Colombia fell 36% in 2023, the government said. It’s the lowest level since record-keeping began, and continues a plunge since leftist President Gustavo Petro was elected in 2022. Petro vowed to halt record deforestation by limiting agribusiness expansion into the forest and creating reserves for Indigenous communities
Continue ReadingSTORRS, Conn. (AP) — UConn and men’s basketball coach Dan Hurley have agreed to a six-year, $50 million contract through the 2029-30 season that makes him one of the nation’s highest paid college coaches nearly a month after he turned down a lucrative offer to coach the Los Angeles Lakers. Hurley, who passed on guiding
Continue ReadingNEW YORK (AP) — Due to a shock hazard, a California company is recalling nearly 1 million power adapters sold with sound machines marketed to help infants and young children sleep. The plastic surrounding the AC power adapter that was supplied with some of Hatch’s Rest 1st generation sound machines can come off when removing
Continue ReadingNEW YORK (AP) — Due to a shock hazard, a California company is recalling nearly 1 million power adapters sold with sound machines marketed to help infants and young children sleep. The plastic surrounding the AC power adapter that was supplied with some of Hatch’s Rest 1st generation sound machines can come off when removing
Continue ReadingBy Kristen Holmes and Daniel Strauss, CNN (CNN) — The panel charged with crafting and producing a platform for the Republican National Committee has adopted a scaled-back document that softened language on abortion and same-sex marriage, Donald Trump’s campaign announced Monday. In addition to editing some of the language, the former president wrote some portions
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Portable signs line Downtown Palm Springs sidewalks, but that could soon change. The city of Palm Springs is now requiring businesses to pay a yearly fee of $44 to allow portable signage to be placed adjacent to the storefront. If the sign is placed on the side walk, in the public right of way, there’s
Continue ReadingAssociated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Inmates at New York City’s Rikers Island are suing the city claiming they were trapped in their cells during a jailhouse fire that injured 20 people last year. The lawsuit filed Friday in federal court in Manhattan says the 15 men were among those kept locked in their rooms
Continue ReadingBy Edward-Isaac Dovere, CNN Washington (CNN) — Sunday morning, Hakeem Jeffries went to church back home in Brooklyn. Shortly after, he tweeted a verse from the Book of Joshua: “Do not be discouraged, for the Lord your god will be with you wherever you go.” That’s from right after the passage where Moses dies of old age,
Continue ReadingPIERRE, S.D. (AP) — Longstanding official social media accounts belonging to South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem appear to have been deleted without explanation. The accounts on Facebook, Instagram and X, the site formerly known as Twitter, had reached hundreds of thousands of followers. As of Monday, links to them on the governor’s official website led
Continue ReadingAssociated Press ROME (AP) — The Vatican’s chief prosecutor has strongly defended the integrity and fairness of the city state’s justice system. Prosecutor Alessandro Diddi has penned an academic essay after recent criticism that Pope Francis’ absolute power and his interventions in last year’s so-called “trial of the century” violated the defendants’ fundamental rights. The
Continue ReadingAssociated Press LONDON (AP) — Tequila-based margaritas and palomas have long been cocktail-menu staples. But their base ingredient — agave — is working its way into other more traditional cocktails for a modern twist. Mezcal has also grown in popularity. It’s made from a wider variety of agaves across Mexico, and is roasted underground for
Continue ReadingAP Tennis Writer LONDON (AP) — Ukrainian tennis player Elina Svitolina says she was in a fog at Wimbledon because of a deadly Russian missile strike on her home country. Svitolina found it difficult to focus on tennis and impossible to celebrate her victory over Wang Xinyu to reach the quarterfinals at the All England
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A change of plea hearing was delayed today until Aug. 5 for a druggist from Riverside County accused of using his pharmacy to submit more than $300 million in fraudulent Medi-Cal claims for prescription medications that were medically unnecessary, often not provided to patients and obtained through the payment of illegal kickbacks. Kyrollos Mekail, 36,
Continue ReadingA Russian court has convicted a theater director and a playwright of terrorism charges and sentenced them to six years prison. It’s the latest in an unrelenting crackdown on dissent in Russia that has reached new heights since Moscow sent troops into Ukraine. Zhenya Berkovich, a prominent independent theater director, and playwright Svetlana Petriychuk have
Continue ReadingAssociated Press NEW DELHI (AP) — Indian police officials say suspected rebels fighting against Indian rule in disputed Kashmir ambushed an army vehicle in the region’s south, killing five Indian soldiers and wounding five. A police officer says the attack on Monday occurred in the Kathua district where the military was on a routine patrol.
Continue ReadingWEST GLACIER, Mont. (AP) — Two men drowned in Glacier National Park over the July 4 holiday weekend, park officials said. A 26-year-old man from India was hiking on Avalanche Lake Trail on Saturday morning when he walked near Avalanche Creek, slipped on rocks and was caught in the cold, fast-moving water. Witnesses saw him
Continue ReadingWEST GLACIER, Mont. (AP) — Two men drowned in Glacier National Park over the July 4 holiday weekend, park officials said. A 26-year-old man from India was hiking on Avalanche Lake Trail on Saturday morning when he walked near Avalanche Creek, slipped on rocks and was caught in the cold, fast-moving water. Witnesses saw him
Continue ReadingAP Entertainment Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — Hollywood has never known exactly what to do with Alec Baldwin, so it has done a little of everything with him. Before the horrific 2021 shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the Western “Rust” put his career in question, he took on, and sent up,
Continue ReadingAP Entertainment Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — Hollywood has never known exactly what to do with Alec Baldwin, so it has done a little of everything with him. Before the horrific 2021 shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the Western “Rust” put his career in question, he took on, and sent up,
Continue ReadingCNN By Kayla Tausche, Betsy Klein, Arlette Saenz and Jeff Zeleny, CNN Washington (CNN) — President Joe Biden told congressional Democrats in a letter on Monday that he will continue his reelection bid despite mounting concerns about his mental fitness and the viability of his campaign, while also hitting back at party “elites” in an
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