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Photos: See the stunning superbloom happening across California

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:06:32 GMT

A “superbloom” of wildflowers is appearing across California this spring due to historic levels of rain that fell in some parts of the state amid a wild winter’s barrage of atmospheric river storms.“Superblooms take place in some desert climates after unusually wet winters, when typically dormant seeds and plants wake up,” Mindy Sink wrote for the Denver Post. “The result, especially in California and Arizona, can be hillsides carpeted in color as thousands of flowers pop open around the same time.”Photographers around the West are capturing stunning images of the blooms, from Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve in Lancaster to Carrizo Plain National Monument near Santa Margarita in California. A recommendation? Take your Instagram photos from the trail to avoid trampling the flowers.An aerial view of people walking in a field with blooming poppy flowers near the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve following an unusually wet winter...

Developers have right to finish $1B Maine power line, jury says

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:06:32 GMT

By DAVID SHARP (Associated Press)PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A jury that heard complicated testimony about construction schedules and constitutional rights delivered a victory Thursday for a $1 billion transmission project, concluding developers had a constitutional right to proceed despite being rebuked by state voters in a referendum.Jurors ruled 9-0 in favor of developers when asked to decide whether enough work was completed in good faith before the referendum for developers to have a vested right to complete the project.Based on the outcome, a state judge is expected to issue a judgment that the referendum can’t be applied to the project.That decision could be appealed to the state Supreme Judicial Court for the final say.At stake is a project touted as a bold effort to combat climate change by supplying up to 1,200 megawatts of Canadian hydropower to the New England power grid — enough electricity for about 1 million homes.Supporters say electricity supplied by the 145-mile (233-ki...

Family of New Mexico man killed by police seek charges

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:06:32 GMT

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — The family of a man shot and killed by police in northwestern New Mexico after they responded to the wrong address called Thursday for the officers to be charged with murder and the police chief to resign. Lawyers for the family of Robert Dotson issued a statement outlining their concerns and planned to talk more about their pursuit of justice at a news conference Thursday afternoon in Farmington. They accused the Farmington Police Department of “wild use of force,” saying there has been a lack of accountability.“We demand that changes. We want what happened to Robbie to also result in a better community for everyone in Farmington,” attorney Shon Northam said in a statement.The family wants San Juan County’s district attorney and New Mexico’s attorney general to investigate other alleged excessive force cases involving the department. They also asked federal prosecutors in a letter sent Thursday to bring charges against the officers involve...

Kansas governor vetoes bills on trans youth care, bathrooms

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:06:32 GMT

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas’ Democratic governor on Thursday vetoed Republican legislation aimed at ending gender-affirming care for children and teens, and another, sweeping GOP proposal for preventing transgender people from using bathrooms and other public facilities associated with their gender identities.Gov. Laura Kelly also vetoed a third GOP bill that specifically would have prevented jails from housing transgender prisoners in units consistent with their gender identities and a fourth measure that would have barred schools from allowing transgender girls from rooming with cisgendered girls, and transgender boys with cisgender boys, on overnight trips. Her actions highlighted how her Republican-leaning state has become a fiercely contested battleground as GOP lawmakers across the U.S. target LGBTQ+ rights through several hundred proposals. Kelly narrowly won reelection in November, but the the Legislature has GOP supermajorities and conservative leaders who’ve mad...

Montreal university to keep donation linked to Chinese government influence effort

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:06:32 GMT

MONTREAL — A Montreal university says it will keep a donation that has been linked to an alleged plot by the Chinese government to influence Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, but it will now use the money to promote democracy.The Université de Montréal said Thursday that it has not been able to confirm the allegations, made by an unnamed national security source in The Globe and Mail, that the donation was part of a political interference operation.Repaying the money would be difficult and would require the university to convince a Quebec Superior Court judge to void the gift “on the basis of some form of defect of consent or impersonation,” said Daniel Jutras, the university’s rector.“We really don’t have any evidence of that that we could actually bring forward in the court, so I think that avenue is fraught with significant likelihood of failure,” Jutras said in an interview Thursday.In 2016, two Chinese businessmen — Zhang Bin and Niu Gensheng — ...

NATO chief: Ukraine’s ‘rightful place’ is in the alliance

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:06:32 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg defiantly declared Thursday that Ukraine’s “rightful place” is in the military alliance and pledged more support for the country on his first visit to Kyiv since Russia’s invasion just over a year ago.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged Stoltenberg, who has been instrumental in marshaling support from NATO members, to push for even more from them, including warplanes, artillery and armored equipment.The Kremlin has given various justifications for going to war, but repeated Thursday that preventing Ukraine from joining NATO is still a key goal of its invasion, arguing that Kyiv’s membership in the alliance would pose an existential threat to Russia.NATO leaders said in 2008 that Ukraine would join the alliance one day, and Stoltenberg has repeated that promise throughout the war, though the organization has established no pathway or timetable for membership.“Let me be clear, Ukraine’s rightful place is in the Euro-Atlantic f...

Peel police to update theft at Toronto Pearson airport following alleged gold heist

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:06:32 GMT

Investigators in Peel Region have enlisted the assistance of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) following an alleged gold heist at Toronto Pearson International Airport.Pearson Airport is often used to transport gold mined in Canada so it can be shipped to customers globally.The Toronto Sun was the first to report on the gold heist at Canada’s largest airport.It’s alleged that 3,600 pounds of gold were stolen from airline cargo earlier in the week. If accurate, that would total $105 million. The Sun reports that investigators are looking at local organized crime gangs as potential suspects.A spokesperson for Ontario’s RCMP confirmed with CityNews its officers are looking into the robbery at Pearson.“We are still trying to get accurate information on the heist,” they said.The Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA) tells CityNews that Pearson was briefly locked down for 18 minutes due to a security incident on Thursday.“I cannot discuss det...

Biden 2024 campaign announcement coming as soon as next week

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:06:32 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden will formally announce his 2024 reelection campaign as soon as next week, three people briefed on the discussions said Thursday.The people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations, said they were not aware that a final decision on timing had been made, but that Biden had been eyeing Tuesday, April 25, four years to the day since the Democrat entered the 2020 race. The upcoming announcement is expected to be in the form of a video released to supporters.Biden has repeatedly said he intends to run for a second term but advisers say he has felt little need to jump into campaigning because he faces no significant opposition to his party’s nomination.Biden has summoned top Democratic donors to Washington next week for what was expected to be a dinner with him and a strategy session with his chief political advisers.The Washington Post first reported on the expected timing of the announcement. Zeke Miller, The A...

Psychologist says man charged in road rage killing was sane

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:06:32 GMT

DENVER (AP) — When a driver trying to get out of the way of an emergency vehicle almost hit his car, Jeremy Webster got angry, his outrage intensified by his worries about getting into an accident since he was not paying his car insurance bill. Webster followed the SUV Meghan Bigelow was driving with her three sons inside, feeling like he was “out of control” as if being directed by something outside of himself, a court-appointed psychologist testified Thursday at Webster’s murder trial.Webster, now 27, is accused of shooting Bigelow and two of her sons, killing one of them, 13-year-old Vaughn Bigelow Jr., with a point-blank shot to the head after they pulled into the parking lot of a suburban Denver dental office in June 2018. He also is charged with wounding a man who witnessed the shootings while the man was waiting in his truck with his 9-year-old daughter for an appointment.Webster has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, which requires prosecutors to prove tha...

Union, government continue negotiations as both sides face pressure to get to a deal

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:06:32 GMT

OTTAWA — An ongoing strike of thousands of public servants is causing service disruptions across the country as both sides are facing different kinds of pressure to reach a deal.Thursday marked the second day of job action by members of the Public Service Alliance of Canada, which comes at the height of tax season and is expected to cause slowdowns at the border and pauses to new employment insurance, immigration and passport applications.In one of the largest strikes in Canada history, government workers walked off the job as of 12:01 a.m. EDT Wednesday, hitting the picket lines at some 250 locations across the country.“When will this prime minister apologize for his incompetence and end this strike?” Conservative MP Stephanie Kusie, the transport critic, said during question period in the House of Commons.Conservatives are holding the federal government responsible for service disruptions caused by the strike.While services deemed essential will continue, some services...