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The Fukushima nuclear plant begins releasing radioactive wastewater into the sea

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:00:56 GMT

OKUMA, Japan (AP) — The operator of the tsunami-wrecked Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant says it has begun releasing its first batch of treated radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean.In a live video from a control room at the plant Thursday, Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings showed a staff member turn on a seawater pump, marking the beginning of the controversial project that is expected to last for decades.“Seawater pump A activated,” the main operator said, confirming the release was underway.Japanese fisher groups have opposed the plan out of worry of further damage to the reputation of their seafood. Groups in China and South Korea have also raised concern, making it a political and diplomatic issue.But the Japanese government and TEPCO say the water must be released to make room for the plant’s decommissioning and to prevent accidental leaks. They say the treatment and dilution will make the wastewater safer than international standards and its environmental im...

After a Vermont playhouse flooded, the show went on

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:00:56 GMT

WESTON, Vt. (AP) — Members of a beloved Vermont acting company were sleeping in theater housing when torrential rains and flooding forced them to flee, with water inundating the playhouse’s vast basement of dressing rooms, costumes and props and reaching into the first floor.The July storms left the large, column-fronted white Greek Revival building with layers of mud and debris, and as volunteers and others dug out of the mess, the Weston Theater Company eventually kept performing — on higher ground. The shortened season came to end last week on a smaller stage on higher ground, and the actors are now figuring out how to make up for some of the losses and rebuild their leased playhouse to be more flood resistant in the tiny riverside town.The prominent playhouse sits in the center of the 620-resident southern Vermont community of Weston along the West River. The oldest professional theater company in Vermont draws people from around the country, including part-time residents and vi...

Trial to begin in Texas in lawsuit over Biden policy letting migrants from 4 countries into the US

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:00:56 GMT

HOUSTON (AP) — A key portion of President Joe Biden’s immigration policy that grants parole to thousands of people from Central America and the Caribbean was set to be debated in a Texas federal courtroom beginning Thursday.Under the humanitarian parole program, up to 30,000 people are being allowed each month to enter the U.S. from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela.Texas is leading a lawsuit filed by 21 Republican-leaning states to stop the program, arguing the Biden administration has overreached its authority. Other programs the administration has implemented to reduce illegal immigration have also faced legal challenges.The parole program was started for Venezuelans in fall 2022 and then expanded in January. People taking part must apply online, arrive at an airport and have a financial sponsor in the U.S. If approved, they can stay for two years and get a work permit.The program has “been tremendously successful at reducing migration to the southwest border,” attorneys for t...

Fire renews Maui stream water rights tension in longtime conflict over sacred Hawaiian resource

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:00:56 GMT

LAHAINA, Hawaii (AP) — Shortly after the ignition of the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century, a developer of land around a threatened Maui community urgently asked state officials for permission to divert water from streams to fight the growing inferno.West Maui Land Company, Inc. said it eventually received approval from the Hawaii commission that oversees water management, but suggested the state body didn’t act quickly enough and first directed the company to talk with a downstream taro farmer who relies on stream water, according to letters by a company executive obtained by The Associated Press and other news outlets. Community members, including Native Hawaiian farmers, say the water the developer wanted for its reservoirs would not have made a difference in the fires. The reservoirs don’t supply Maui County’s fire hydrants, and firefighting helicopters — which could have dipped into the reservoirs for water — were grounded by high winds.The Aug. 8 fire that killed ...

Bans on diverse board books? Young kids need to see their families represented, experts say

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:00:56 GMT

When Wes Brown sought out children’s books for his two young sons, he made sure to seek titles that reflected the family he and his husband were building. He found that in one called “The Family Book,” a 2003 picture book by Todd Parr. It depicts families of all kinds: the traditional nuclear family, but also families with one parent or step-parents, as well as adoptive families and same-sex parents like Brown and his husband.But across the country, books and lessons that represent different families and identities are increasingly the target of conservative pushback — even when they’re for the youngest of learners. Parr’s book for preschoolers and early readers is often among those challenged by parents and activists. “It is important my kids are definitely exposed to that,” Brown said. “What these parents are really doing is demonstrating how fragile their worldview is, that a children’s book is enough to shatter it.”Efforts to ban books have been surging at scho...

A former principal of an Australian Jewish school sentenced to 15 years for child sex abuse

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:00:56 GMT

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — A former principal of an Australian Jewish school was sentenced on Thursday to 15 years in prison after she was convicted of sexually abusing two students.Malka Leifer, 56, must serve at least 11 years and six months of the sentence before she can be considered for early release. As soon as she is released from a Victoria state prison, she will likely be deported to her native Israel.Leifer was principal of Melbourne’s ultra-Orthodox Adass Israel School when she abused sisters Dassi Erlick and Elly Sapper between 2004 and 2007. Erlick was aged 16 and Sapper 17 when the abuse began.The Associated Press does not usually identify victims of sexual abuse, but the sisters have chosen to identify themselves in the media.A Victoria County Court jury in April convicted her of 18 of 27 charges of sex abuse that she was tried on. The most serious convictions were on six counts of rape, each carrying a potential maximum sentence of 25 years in prison.In sentencing, J...

More than 126 Million people under Heat Advisory or Excessive Heat warning; acres of farmland adding to the region's atmospheric moisture load

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:00:56 GMT

DANGEROUSLY HIGH HUMIDITIES in place here from the crops in the Midwest. We've had the highest dew points of anywhere in the country—a frequent development this time of year with the 120-million acres of farmland adding to the region's atmospheric moisture load through the moisture being sent into the atmosphere by their leaves—a process known as "EVAPOTRANSPIRATION".  It's a big deal as evidenced by the fact we have mid-80° dew points in parts of the Midwest—just shy of peak Persian Gulf moisture levels and higher than a number of dew points being observed on the Gulf Coast.The dew point at O'Hare has hit 80° for only the 8th time on the books since 1871. Underscoring how unusual this isWe've reached a dew point now only 3-degrees from the HIGHEST DEW POINT ON THE BOOKS IN CHICAGO: 83-degrees on July 30, 1999. THIS IS INCREDIBLY HUMID AIR and COMBINED WITH THE DEVELOPING LEVEL OF HEAT WE HAVE GOING has made a DANGEROUS HEAT/HUMIDITY COMBO WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY AFTERNOONS.Take it e...

GOP candidates tangled in Milwaukee as they vied to be the leading alternative to front-runner Trump

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:00:56 GMT

MILWAUKEE — The Republican presidential candidates vying to be the leading alternative to front-runner Donald Trump fought — sometimes bitterly — over abortion rights, U.S. support for Ukraine and the future of the party during the first primary debate of the 2024 campaign.But on what is arguably the most consequential choice facing the party, virtually all lined up behind Trump, saying they would support the former president if he is their nominee, even if he is convicted in a court of law as he faces a slew of criminal charges.It was a reminder of the power Trump continues to wield in the party, even as he chose to skip the debate, held in Milwaukee, insisting there was no point in participating given his commanding lead.With less than five months until the Iowa caucuses jumpstart the GOP presidential nomination process, the debate was a critical moment for candidates trying to break through and emerge as the Trump alternative in the race. For Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who announ...

Four killed at famous Orange County biker bar, including gunman

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:00:56 GMT

At least four people were killed and six others were injured Wednesday evening after shots rang out at a historic and popular Orange County biker bar. Among those killed was the suspected gunman, according to the Orange County Sheriff's Department. The shooting happened around 7:30 p.m. at Cook's Corner, located at 19152 Santiago Canyon Rd. in Trabuco Canyon.Authorities responded after several people were shot at Cook's Corner, a biker bar in Trabuco Canyon on August 23, 2023. (KTLA)Photos posted to social media showed a chaotic and bloody scene.Around 9 p.m., Sheriff's Department officials confirmed that four people were dead and six people were taken to the hospital, five needing treatment for gunshot wounds.Officials said deputies fired on the suspect, who was struck and killed. No law enforcement officers were injured.Authorities have not released any details about the gunman, or what led up to the shooting, but early reports indicate the shooter was a retired law enforcement of...

Over $1.2 million worth of meth discovered in Ventura County drug bust

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:00:56 GMT

A man was arrested after authorities found over $1.2 million dollars worth of methamphetamine in a Ventura County drug bust.The suspect was identified as Erick Montoya, 32, from Downey, by the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office.Detectives were investigating a Mexico-based drug trafficking organization that was responsible for transporting large amounts of meth, fentanyl and cocaine into the U.S.The drug ring would smuggle the meth in liquid form before converting it into a solid “crystal” form after arriving in the country, authorities said.Once crystalized, the meth was transported in bulk by drug couriers to wholesale customers across the Southland.On Aug. 18, investigators received information that a large drug shipment would be heading to Fillmore. A man was arrested after authorities found over $1.2 million dollars worth of methamphetamine in Ventura County on Aug. 18, 2023. (Ventura County Sheriff's Office)During the operation, investigators spotted Montoya parked in an SUV in fr...