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Kiska, Marineland orca, dies after over 40 years in captivity

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:15:24 GMT

Kiska, the lone orca at Marineland, has died after over 40 years in captivity.Often described as the world’s loneliest orca, Kiska had been at Marineland in Niagara Falls since 1979 and was about 47 years old.In a statement, Marineland says its “Marine mammal care team and experts did everything possible to support Kiska’s comfort and will mourn her loss.”The park says the whale’s health declined in recent weeks. Kiska lived alone in a pool complex since 2011 and was the last orca legally allowed to live in captivity.“World Animal Protection is heartbroken over the death of Kiska, Marineland’s last living orca, but thanks to changes to federal legislation, Kiska will be the last Orca to ever be in captivity in Canada,” said Michèle Hamers, World Animal Protection’s Wildlife Campaign Manager.“Marineland continues to escape accountability because of Ontario’s weak animal welfare enforcement, which has resulted in a cult...

Lineker off flagship BBC soccer show after Twitter posts

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:15:24 GMT

LONDON — Former England captain Gary Lineker was temporarily removed on Friday from his role as presenter of the BBC’s flagship soccer highlights show in the wake of his criticism of the British government’s new asylum policy.The long-running “Match of the Day” program, which has been a national institution in Britain since the 1960s, will be aired on Saturday “without studio presentation or punditry,” the BBC said in an extraordinary development after a slew of Lineker’s colleagues announced they wouldn’t appear on the show without him.In a post on Tuesday on his Twitter account that has 8.7 million followers, Lineker — one of England’s greatest soccer players and now among the U.K.’s most influential media figures — compared lawmakers’ language about migrants to that used in Nazi Germany.The BBC considers Lineker posting such views on social media as a breach of its guidelines. The network said it held discussions with Lineker over his involvement in “Match...

The New York hush-money probe of Donald Trump explained

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:15:24 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — In the final weeks of the 2016 presidential election, Donald Trump’s lawyer tried to buy the silence of a porn actress who said she had a sexual encounter with the Republican during his days as a reality TV star.More than six years later, New York prosecutors appear to be close to deciding whether Trump should face charges in connection with that payoff, in what could become the first criminal case ever brought against a former president.Thursday’s news that the Manhattan district attorney invited Trump to testify before a grand jury next week suggested prosecutors were serious about bringing charges in a probe that looked like yesterday’s news just a few months ago.Trump has denied wrongdoing and that he had any extramarital affairs, and he blasted the probe in a Truth Social post as a “political Witch-Hunt, trying to take down the leading candidate, by far, in the Republican Party”Here’s a refresher on how things got to this point:WHAT IS TH...

Puerto Rico breaks world record as baseball fans go blond

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:15:24 GMT

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — The blonds are back.Puerto Rico on Friday broke the Guinness World record for the most hair dyed, with 192 men going blond to support the U.S. territory’s team that is vying to win the World Baseball Classic after finishing twice as runner-up.The team’s players first dyed their hair blond ahead of the 2017 World Baseball Classic as a joke, unexpectedly unleashing a dyeing craze in Puerto Rico that left pharmacies and beauty supply stores bereft of hair dye. The tournament is usually held every four years, but the pandemic delayed it by two years, so after six years of no dye jobs and no “Team Rubio!” cheers, many Puerto Ricans were eager to see if the trend would continue.The players obliged and repeated the tradition this year, and people in the island of overwhelmingly dark hair once again responded via platinum blond, dirty blond and even burnt orange locks and beards to show their support.“The more blond hair, the more united we’ll be as a peop...

B.C. to drop COVID-19 vaccine rule for public workers as it launches booster campaign

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:15:24 GMT

VANCOUVER — British Columbia is rescinding its policy requiring provincial public servants to be vaccinated against COVID-19 as it announces a spring booster program that will focus on the elderly and vulnerable.Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says the next round of boosters will target people at the “highest risk” of severe illness.That includes people aged at least 80, Indigenous people aged at least 70 and long-term care residents.People who are at least 18 and are moderately to severely immunity compromised are also recommended to get a booster in the campaign, which Henry says will begin “for the most part” in April. The province has meanwhile announced that from April 3, BC Public Service employees will no longer be required to provide proof of vaccination.The Ministry of Finance says in a statement the decision to rescind the policy was made “based on the high level of vaccination among public-service employees and the current state of...

Oregon closer to magic mushroom therapy, but has setback

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:15:24 GMT

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Oregon is taking a major step Friday in its pioneering of legalized psilocybin therapy with the graduation of the first students trained in accompanying patients tripping on psychedelic mushrooms, although a company’s bankruptcy leaves another group on the same path adrift.The graduation ceremony for 35 students was being held Friday evening by InnerTrek, a Portland firm, at a woodsy retreat center. A total of around 70 more will graduate on Saturday and Sunday in ceremonies in which they will pledge to do no harm.“Facilitator training is at the heart of the nation’s first statewide psilocybin therapy and wellness program and is core to the success of the Oregon model we’re pioneering here,” said Tom Eckert, program director at InnerTrek and the architect of the 2020 ballot measure which legalized Oregon’s program. In order to receive a certificate from InnerTrek, the students must pass a final exam. They then can take a test administered by the Oregon Healt...

Maryland House OKs recreational marijuana framework bill

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:15:24 GMT

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — The Maryland House voted Friday for a measure that would create a legal framework and tax structure to enable recreational marijuana to be sold in stores as soon as July 1.The House voted 103-32 for the bill, sending it to the Senate, which is moving forward with a separate measure.Although Maryland voters approved a constitutional amendment in November to legalize recreational marijuana, lawmakers left details about implementation to be decided this session. “You might not have agreed with marijuana or the vote that our citizens took, but they took it, so it’s now our obligation to create an adult-use program,” said Del. C.T. Wilson, the chair of the House Economic Matters Committee. “And it’s our duty to ensure that Marylanders can receive the benefit of ownership in this industry, that citizens can have access to safe and effective cannabis without fear of adverse health effects or violence.”Under the constitutional amendment, which received 67% ...

Trans Mountain pipeline construction costs balloon again, this time to $30.9B

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:15:24 GMT

CALGARY — The estimated cost of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project has increased once again, this time to $30.9 billion.That’s the latest figure from Trans Mountain Corp., the federal Crown corporation that owns the pipeline. On Friday, Trans Mountain Corp. blamed the latest cost overruns on a number of factors, including inflation, labour and supply chain challenges, flooding in B.C. and unexpected major archeological discoveries along the route.The new price tag is a 44 per cent increase from the $21.4 billion cost projection placed on the pipeline expansion project a year ago, and more than double an earlier estimate of $12.6 billion. Previous cost increases were blamed on the COVID-19 pandemic, scheduling pressures related to permitting processes, and route changes to avoid culturally and environmentally sensitive areas, among other things.“Canada has among the world’s highest standards for the protection of people, the environment, and Indigenous participation ...

Regulators cut pressure on pipeline after Kansas oil spill

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:15:24 GMT

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — U.S. government regulators have stopped allowing a large part of the Keystone oil pipeline to operate at higher-than-normal pressures following a massive oil spill in northeastern Kansas in December.The order this week from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s pipeline safety arm covers 1,220 miles (1,963 kilometers) of the Keystone pipeline in seven U.S. states. Regulators already had ordered the system’s operator, Canada-based TC Energy, to reduce the pressure on a 96-mile (155-kilometer) segment of the pipeline from southern Nebraska near the Kansas border into central Kansas, where the spill occurred. The regulators’ action came ahead of the first hearings in the Kansas Legislature on the spill. A TC Energy official is set to face questions from lawmakers Tuesday during a joint meeting of two House committees. TC Energy said in a statement Friday that it was already operating within the pressure limits set by this week’s order and t...

Bears trading No. 1 overall pick to Panthers, report says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:15:24 GMT

LAKE FOREST - Indeed, the Chicago Bears will not be making the No. 1 overall selection in the 2023 NFL Draft.Per multiple reports, from Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network, the team will be sending the selection to the Panthers for a host of selections in this year's and future year's drafts.Adam Schefter of ESPN is reporting the return is the No. 9 overall selection in the 2023 NFL Draft, a second round pick in 2023, a first round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, a second round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, along with wide receiver DJ Moore.This means the Bears will now have ten selections in the NFL Draft, having picked up an extra selection in the swap for the No. 1 pick. It's the biggest move so far of general manager Ryan Poles' tenure with the Bears as he looks to rebuild the team after a 3-14 season. It was very much expected that he would trade the pick since a number of teams need quarterbacks and he's publically committed to Justin Fields as the Bears' signal caller for the foreseeab...