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Millions breathing hazardous air as smoke from Canadian wildfires streams south over US

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:12:46 GMT

By JENNIFER PELTZ and ROB GILLIES (Associated Press)NEW YORK (AP) — Smoke from Canadian wildfires poured into the U.S. East Coast and Midwest on Wednesday, covering the capitals of both nations in an unhealthy haze, holding up flights at major airports, postponing Major League Baseball games and prompting people to fish out pandemic-era face masks.Canadian officials asked other countries for additional help fighting more than 400 blazes nationwide that already have displaced 20,000 people. Air with hazardous levels of pollution extended into the New York metropolitan area, central New York state and parts of Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Massive tongues of unhealthy air extended as far as North Carolina and Indiana, affecting millions of people.“I can taste the air,” Dr. Ken Strumpf said in a Facebook post from Syracuse, New York, which was enveloped in an amber pall. The smoke, he later said by phone, even made him a bit dizzy. The air quality index, a U.S. Environ...

Jaylon Johnson says he ‘100%’ would like a new contract. But that’s not why the Chicago Bears cornerback was absent from OTAs.

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:12:46 GMT

Jaylon Johnson would “100%” like to sign a contract extension with the Chicago Bears this offseason, he said after wrapping up practice Wednesday at Halas Hall.But the fourth-year starting cornerback reiterated that his absence during the first two weeks of organized team activities didn’t have anything to do with his contract.Johnson returned to Lake Forest this week for the final stretch of OTAs before veteran minicamp next week, ramping up first in individual drills and now in team drills. He said on an ESPN radio show last week and again Wednesday that he skipped the earlier voluntary sessions because he wanted to spend time with his 3-year-old daughter in their hometown of Fresno, Calif., where he also ran an event for his charity last weekend.“Before I’m a football player, before I’m anything, I’m a dad first,” Johnson said. “I don’t get to spend too much time with her during the season because she’s back at hom...

‘It was kind of orange’: Chicago White Sox game in New York is postponed because of ‘clearly hazardous’ air from Canadian wildfires

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:12:46 GMT

Chicago White Sox second baseman Romy Gonzalez said catching pop-ups Tuesday against the hazy sky at Yankee Stadium was “tough.”Conditions didn’t get any better Wednesday, and Major League Baseball postponed the scheduled Sox game against the New York Yankees because of what it called “clearly hazardous air quality.”New York is under a haze because of smoke carried down from wildfires burning in Canada.“These are health issues,” Sox manager Pedro Grifol said. “We’ve been through everything — snow, rain, hail. I don’t think I’ve been through something like this.“Today at one point, it was pretty bad out there. We walked out of the dugout and it was kind of orange.”The game will be made up Thursday as part of a straight doubleheader beginning at 3:05 p.m. Central time.“They did the right thing,” Grifol said. “They got all the information. If they are comfortable setting up a doublehea...

Accused rapist Gary Zerola’s defense team hammers credibility of witnesses in second day of trial

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:12:46 GMT

A woman who had a sexual relationship with accused rapist Gary Zerola and is one of the best friends of his alleged victim, and was sharing the same couch where the alleged crime took place seven years ago, took the stand on the second day of Zerola’s trial.“I woke up to (the alleged victim) shaking me,” Colleen Daley, 29, said in an answer to one of prosecutor Ian Polumbaum’s questions Wednesday at Suffolk Superior Court in downtown Boston. “She was very serious and said ‘Get up, we’re leaving.’”Daley had been a former client of Zerola, 51, when he represented her as a defense attorney in 2015 into 2016, according to her testimony. Zerola, who has two past acquittals for similar charges, had served as a prosecutor in district attorneys’ offices in both Essex and Suffolk before becoming a criminal defense lawyer.She said their relationship moved from attorney-client into friendship and then that the pair “became more” when her case closed in early 2016.But the focus of this tr...

Carlos Rodon faces hitters as Yankees officially place Aaron Judge on IL

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:12:46 GMT

Carlos Rodon is used to throwing smoke. On Wednesday, he pitched beneath it.Rodon took the Yankee Stadium mound for the first time as a pinstriper for an expected session against live hitters, a notable stage in his rehab following a spring training forearm injury and, more recently, back issues. Rodon threw 20 pitches to Oswaldo Cabrera and Jake Bauers. Or, as Rodon called him, “Rake” Bauers.“It was a big step,” said Rodon, who threw all his pitches. His fastball sat between 92 and 94 miles per hour, a perfectly reasonable range at this point in his recovery.Rodon’s first trip to the Bronx mound as a Yankee came under unusual circumstances, and not just because he threw in front of empty seats.Smoke from Canadian wildfires has been blanketing New York City. The Yankees canceled outdoor batting practice and had players do pregame work inside before Wednesday’s game against the White Sox was postponed, but that didn’t stop Rodon from throwing...

Air pollution cloaks eastern US for a second day. Here’s why there is so much smoke

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:12:46 GMT

Intense smoke blanketed the northeastern United States for a second day Wednesday, turning the air a yellowish gray and prompting warnings for people to stay inside and keep windows closed. The smoke is flowing from dozens of wildfires burning in several Canadian provinces. Much of the air was in the “unhealthy or worse categories in areas from the mid-Atlantic through the Northeast and parts of the Upper Great Lakes,” according to an advisory issued by the Environmental Protection Agency Wednesday night. U.S. authorities issued air quality alerts in multiple regions and smoke was expected to persist for days.Conditions were especially bad in parts of central New York, where the airborne soot was at hazardous levels. In New York City, officials on Wednesday said everyone should stay indoors. The conditions arrived late Tuesday afternoon, obscuring views of New Jersey across the Hudson River. Here’s a closer look at what’s happening and what’s in the smoke:GENESIS OF THE SMOKEU...

Tupac Shakur receives Walk of Fame star honor in the same month as birthday

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:12:46 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Tupac Shakur received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Wednesday, just several days before the hip-hop legend’s birthday.The late rapper’s sister, Sekyiwa “Set” Shakur, accepted the star on behalf of their family. During her speech, she shed tears while describing her older brother’s vision of being celebrated with a star in Hollywood.“From the first time he stepped foot on this stage of the Apollo Theater at 13 years old, before anyone recognized his name, he knew he had the dream to have a star here on the Walk of Fame,” said Sekyiwa Shakur, who often took deep breaths between sentences to collect herself. The Walk of Fame said Shakur was selected to receive a star in 2013, but the organization waited for his family and estate to select a date.Shakur was given the 2,758th star on the Walk of Fame. His birthday is June 16.“Now we gather here today to unveil Tupac’s star not only paying tribute to his contributions to the music industry, but also speaks vol...

B.C. First Nation buys back 140-year-old robe, paying almost $40,000 to bring it home

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:12:46 GMT

ATLIN, B.C. — A man who helped return a 140-year-old Tlingit robe to the British Columbia First Nation where it was created says it’s as if the regalia called out to its people and they are bringing it home.The intricately woven Chilkat robe, made of mountain goat wool and yellow cedar bark, was purchased by the Taku River Tlingit First Nation in northwestern B.C. for almost $40,000 after it went up for sale at a Toronto auction house last year.The robe arrived in Whitehorse Wednesday and will travel 175 kilometres south to the First Nation’s traditional territory in Atlin, B.C., where it’s expected to go on display and may be used in future ceremonies. While the community celebrates the return of a piece of its heritage, the First Nation said Indigenous people should not be forced to buy back regalia that was stolen from them. It’s calling on the federal government to take action to prevent similar situations in the future.Tlingit elder and master carver Way...

Defrocked Nunavut priest arrested on historical sexual assault charges

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:12:46 GMT

KINGSTON, Ont. — A defrocked Oblate priest and convicted sex offender is facing eight new criminal charges for past sexual assaults he allegedly committed while living in Nunavut.Iqaluit RCMP said Eric Dejaeger, 76, was arrested on a Canada-wide warrant Wednesday in Kingston, Ont., where he was living. Police said he will be transported to Iqaluit to appear on the charges before the Nunavut Court of Justice. Police gave no details about when and where the alleged assaults occurred, but said the charges stem from investigations conducted between 2011 and 2015. Dejaeger, who was born in Belgium and became a Canadian citizen in 1977, has previously been convicted of numerous sexual offences.He served part of a five-year sentence beginning in 1990 for sexual crimes against children in Baker Lake, Nunavut, committed between 1982 and 1989.Following his release, he learned RCMP were investigating his activities in Igloolik, Nvt., and fled to Belgium. He was extradited back to Canada in 201...

Biden vetoes bill to cancel student debt relief

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:12:46 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Wednesday vetoed legislation that would have canceled his plan to forgive student debt.The measure had been pushed by Republicans, but it garnered a handful of Democratic votes in the Senate as well. “It is a shame for working families across the country that lawmakers continue to pursue this unprecedented attempt to deny critical relief to millions of their own constituents,” Biden said in a statement when announcing his veto. Despite the veto, Biden’s plan still isn’t secure. The U.S. Supreme Court, which is dominated by a conservative majority, is reviewing a legal challenge that could eliminate the program. A decision is expected this summer. If enacted, Biden’s plan would forgive up to $20,000 in federal student loan debt for borrowers making less than $125,000 per year. Student loan payments were paused at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, they will resume in August for anyone whose debt is not wiped out...