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Kremlin open to talks over potential prisoner swap involving detained US reporter Evan Gershkovich

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:08 GMT

MOSCOW (AP) — The Kremlin on Tuesday held the door open for contacts with the U.S. regarding a possible prisoner exchange that could potentially involve jailed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, but reaffirmed that such talks must be held out of the public eye.Asked whether Monday’s consular visits to Gershkovich, who has been held behind bars in Moscow since March on charges of espionage, and Vladimir Dunaev, a Russian citizen in U.S. custody on cybercrime charges, could potentially herald a prisoner swap, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Moscow and Washington have touched on the issue.“We have said that there have been certain contacts on the subject, but we don’t want them to be discussed in public,” Peskov said in a conference call with reporters. “They must be carried out and continue in complete silence.”He didn’t offer any further details, but added that “the lawful right to consular contacts must be ensured on both sides.”The U.S....

Paramount lowers first half 2023 average sales volumes guidance due to wildfires

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:08 GMT

CALGARY — Paramount Resources Ltd. says it expects its average sales volumes for the first half of 2023 will come in below its earlier guidance as it works to restore the last of the production that was put on hold due to the Alberta wildfires.The company says average sales volumes for the first half 2023 are expected to be about 92,500 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd).The figure is down from its previous guidance of between 96,000 to 101,000 boepd for the first half of this year.Paramount says it is working to restore the last of the curtailed production and continues to assess the impact of the fires due to interruptions to maintenance and development work.It says it has successfully restored all but about 2,500 boepd of the production that had been curtailed as a result of the wildfires. Paramount was one of several energy companies that were forced to stop production temporarily in Alberta earlier this year due to wildfires.This report by The Canadian Press was first pu...

How to counter residential school denialism

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:08 GMT

In today’s Big Story podcast, as awful as the legacy of Canada’s residential schools is, there are some in this country who don’t want to believe it. In recent months, this has led to a rise in attempts to use linguistic missteps on the part of journalists or Indigenous leaders to ‘expose’ what minimizers claim is a lack of proof that thousands of children died at these schools.Niigaan Sinclair is a professor of Indigenous studies at the University of Manitoba, he wrote about residential school denialism for The Tyee.“If you had a crime that was perpetrated, you would want to hear from the victims of that crime … But in the case of denialists they’re saying we know better than those who have firsthand experience,” says Sinclair.So how do the searches at the school sites work? What, precisely, has been found there? And if we know there are remains in the ground, why haven’t more of them been exhumed?You can subscribe to The Big Story podcast ...

Spanish authorities seek damages from a Swedish mining company over a major toxic spill 25 years ago

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:08 GMT

MADRID (AP) — Spanish authorities are seeking 90 million euros ($98 million) in damages from a Swedish mining company for a major toxic spill near the famed Doñana National Park in 1998.The civil trial that opened Tuesday is hearing the case against the Boliden company that ran the Los Frailes Aznalcóllar mine where the walls of a wastewater reservoir burst, pouring an estimated 1.3 billion gallons of acidic liquid into the Guadiamar River in southern Seville province in what was one of Spain’s worst environmental disasters.Makeshift dikes kept the liquid and mud from flowing into the nearby Doñana National Park, but a vast area near the mine was inundated with toxic sludge containing traces of zinc, iron and other heavy metals. Thousands of fish and birds were killed.The southern regional government of Andalusia is taking the case against Boliden.The trial will hear testimony from 12 witnesses and three experts and is expected to conclude July 13, court officials said.A criminal tr...

Tijuana, reliant on the Colorado River, faces a water crisis

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:08 GMT

TIJUANA, Mexico (AP) — Luis Ramirez leapt onto the roof of his bright blue water truck to fill the plastic tank that by day’s end would empty into an assortment of buckets, barrels and cisterns in 100 homes.It was barely 11 a.m. and Ramirez had many more stops to make on the hilly, grey fringes of Tijuana, a sprawling, industrial border city in northwestern Mexico where trucks or “pipas” like Ramirez’s provide the only drinking water for many people. “Each time, it gets farther and farther where we have to go,” he said, blaming the city’s water problems on drought and population growth, before jumping into the driver’s seat next to 16-year-old assistant Daniel Alvarez.Among the last cities downstream to receive water from the shrinking Colorado River, Tijuana is staring down a water crisis driven also by aging, inefficient infrastructure and successive governments that have done little to prepare the city for diminishing water in the region.Entire neighborhoo...

Law change allows someone to give up baby anonymously at safe site in Texas

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:08 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — There's a new change to a longtime law in Texas that allows someone to give up a baby, leaving them at a safe place like a fire, EMS or police station. In the past, a person was required to physically leave an infant with an employee on site. Now, "baby boxes" could now be installed throughout Texas, allowing a person to surrender a child anonymously. However, there are a number of logistics to figure out before this happens. Nonetheless, there has been a longtime push from advocates, like Pamela Allen, to help get this legislation passed. Allen is the CEO of the nonprofit Eagle's Flight Advocacy and Outreach. Through her organization, she has organized funerals for abandoned and abused infants. "We did a double burial [one time], Allen said. "Our sheriff was doing a drug raid and found a baby's mummified body in a suitcase…when we were getting ready to organize that burial, we get a phone call that a woman who had lived on the streets. She brought a b...

From Red Raiders to red wine, why Lubbock is the Texas sweet spot for grapes

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:08 GMT

LUBBOCK, Texas – Over the last decade, many believe that “Red Raiderland” has gradually become “Red Wine Country.”Wine experts call Lubbock and its surrounding area the new “Wine Capital of Texas,” mostly because 80% of wine grapes grown in Texas come from the South Plains.“The reason is because of our climate, our elevation, and the amount of wind blowing. That really helps out,” said Jason Centanni, winemaker at Lubbock’s Llano Estacado Winery. Shaquille O’Neal opening a restaurant in Lubbock Llano Estacado is one of Lubbock’s oldest and most popular wineries, along with English-Newsome and McPherson Cellars. All three offer wine tastings, wine club memberships and wine tours. Visitors can see the bottling process from start to finish.Near Lubbock (Nexstar/Staff) Llano Estacado Winery (Nexstar/Staff) Llano Estacado Winery (Nexstar/Staff) Llano Estacado Winery (Nexstar/Staff) Llano Estacado Winery (Nexstar/Staff) Jason Centanni (Nexstar/Staff) “A lot of the times, our visitors ar...

Convicted sex offender facing 15 indictments in Berkshire County

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:08 GMT

BERKSHIRE COUNTY, Mass. (NEWS10) -- The Berkshire County Court held a bail hearing for Donald Monsees, 71, on Friday. According to the Berkshire County District Attorney's Office, Monsees is a prior convicted sex offender, and the bail hearing was after a 180-day hold expired. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! Per the DA's office, the defense asked for immediate release due to Monsees having chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diabetes, and kidney cancer. Judge Flannery sided with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, saying the Berkshire House of Corrections has provided adequate service, and also took into account Monsees' prior convictions, numerous victims, potential life sentence, and ties to Florida. Flannery set bail at $250,000 cash.Monsees faces 15 indictments including the following charges.Rape of a child with force (two counts)Rape of enhanced a child with force after certain offenses (two counts)Indecent assault ...

3 people killed, 2 injured in St. Ann shooting

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:08 GMT

ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. - Three people were shot and killed in a home in St. Ann. Police say a mother, a teen, and a child all died from gunshot wounds.The shooting happened inside a house on Jane Avenue in St. Ann, not too far away from the police department. Three people are dead including a woman, a teenage boy, and a 5-year-old girl.The shooting happened around 9:00 p.m. Upon arrival, St. Ann Police found a teenage boy dead in the kitchen, a woman dead in the garage, and a 5-year-old girl barely alive in the living room.She was rushed to a nearby hospital where she later died from her injuries. 3 people shot and killed, 2 injured in St. Ann shooting The police chief shared with FOX 2 that another teenage girl was shot in the hand. Police also found a man with a possible self-inflicted gunshot wound barely alive. The man was apparently barricaded in the home when police arrived. He was also taken to the hospital for treatment.The investigation is still early, and that's known is ...

Opinion: This Fourth of July, missing rest stops could cause discomfort in your road trip

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:08 GMT

It was around 3 p.m., I was passing mile 500 for the day, and my knees were screaming.I’m doing lots of driving these days. Fortunate enough to be able to retire in my 60’s, and in possession of a car that sips gas sparingly and a cat that tolerates solo stints, and with both sons grown, I used my PERA check in June to go see my mom in the Pacific Northwest, and do a bit of traveling for fun as well.Sometimes I talk my partner into coming along, but mostly it’s just me, bombing down the highway at the speed limit (80 mph in Idaho!) and seeing the USA. Often, I even camp. It’s a freewheeling good time, catching 1970’s classics to sing – well, yell – along to, arguing with the surprisingly well-spoken right-wing and Catholic broadcasts, and glimpsing the flabbergasting vistas the Conestoga wagon folks fell in love with, almost 200 years ago.It’s a freewheeling good time, that is, until you need a break.The highways of Washington and Oregon, and even Idaho and Utah, feature beaut...