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As sand miners prosper in Uganda, a vital lake basin suffers

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:18:53 GMT

LWERA WETLAND, Uganda (AP) — The excavator grunts in the heart of the wetland, baring its teeth. There are trucks waiting to be loaded with sand, and more almost certainly on the way. This is how it is here daily in Lwera — a central Ugandan region on the fringes of Lake Victoria: a near-constant demand for sand that’s exerting pressure on a wetland that’s home to locals and animals and feeds into Africa’s largest freshwater lake.Lwera is a breeding ground for fish, serves as a stop for migratory birds and can store vast amounts of planet-warming carbon dioxide underground. The wetland stretches more than 20 kilometers (12 miles) astride the highway from the Ugandan capital Kampala into the western interior. It has long been worked over by sand miners, both legal and illegal, motivated by demand from the construction industry. Now, all known corporate operations within the wetland have authorization to be there, giving them a measure of legitimacy that’s frustrating environmen...

LA’s big Armenian community marks genocide remembrance day

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:18:53 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The killing and deportation of Armenians by Ottoman Empire forces in the early 1900s was remembered Monday in Southern California, home to an enormous Armenian American community that only recently has been able to celebrate U.S. recognition that the systematic oppression was genocide.Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day was marked in the Los Angeles region by big rallies and marches long before 2021, when President Joe Biden became the first U.S. president to use the word “genocide” to describe the campaign of violence.For decades, the White House had avoided using using the term for fear of alienating Turkey, the successor to the Ottoman Empire and a NATO ally. The government of Turkey vehemently rejected Biden’s use of the word. Biden on Monday issued a statement renewing a pledge to never forget.“On April 24, 1915, Ottoman authorities arrested Armenian intellectuals and community leaders in Constantinople — the start of a systematic campaign of violence aga...

'A slap on the wrist': Community activists blast charges for teens involved in stolen vehicle crash that killed infant

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:18:53 GMT

CHICAGO — Eight days after a crash involving a stolen car claimed the life of a 6-month-old boy, community activists are demanding action and accountability after the two teens accused of being involved were only charged with misdemeanors. Andrew Holmes not only called on State’s Attorney Kim Foxx’s office for answers but questioned why the crash occurred. “You took that baby’s life. You took the breath out of that baby. For what? All because you wanted to joyride and steal somebody’s car," Holmes said. 6-month-old dies after crash involving stolen vehicle on West Side Also injured in the crash that claimed the life of 6-month-old Cristian Uvida were the infant's two older sisters and mother. "She has to close a casket. You all opened up a door, got in that door, and took off," Holmes said. Police said the crash happened around 5 p.m. Sunday, April 16, in the 4400 block of West Washington. A stolen Hyundai was traveling westbound on Washington when it struck a pickup truck."...

One dead after shooting at Oklahoma college; suspect in custody

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:18:53 GMT

MIDWEST CITY, Okla. (KFOR) - A man is dead and another is in custody after a shooting put an Oklahoma college on lockdown Monday.The shooting happened near Rose State College's humanities building, according to authorities. The two-year college has about 13,000 students and is just outside Oklahoma City. Midwest City Police Chief Sid Porter said the alleged shooter, 30-year-old Brandon Morrissette, and the victim, a 20-year-old man, knew each other "through a domestic situation."According to authorities, Morrissette’s wife and the unidentified victim, both students at Rose State College, appeared to have been walking out of the campus building together when they were confronted by Morrissette. ‘This is a lot of trauma:’ Rose State College community left shaken after shooting He then allegedly shot at the 20-year-old victim, who was pronounced dead at the scene. Midwest City Police officers on campus quickly found and confronted Morrissette, who they said complied with orders and ...

CPD: 14-year-old girl missing from East Side neighborhood found safe

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:18:53 GMT

CHICAGO — The Chicago Police Department was seeking the public's help in finding an at-risk missing 14-year-old girl who was last seen in the City's East Side neighborhood.Mackenzie Wychocki, 14.Police said Mackenzie Wychocki was last seen around 1 p.m. Monday in the 3500 block of East 114th Street. She is in possession of a Ventra fare card, which was last used on a 30 South Chicago CTA Bus. She was found safe around 9:17 p.m., according to police.

Victim 'brutally attacked' in north Austin robbery, APD searching for suspect

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:18:53 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- The Austin Police Department is seeking the public's help in finding a suspect wanted in connection with a north Austin robbery, APD said in a news release.Shortly before 2 p.m., April 8, two suspects "brutally assaulted" the victim by punching and stomping on the victim's head in an alleyway in the 900 block of Rutland Drive, police said.One of the suspects has been arrested, police said. The other is who the police need help to find.During the attack, both suspects took the victim's belongings and ran north away from the scene, the release said. Detectives believe this was not a random attack.A video of the assault can be viewed on APD's YouTube.The description of the unidentified suspect is below:Black maleStocky build20 to 30 years of ageHe was last seen wearing a dark blue, flat-brimmed hat with a gray New England Patriots logo, a dark blue and white hooded jacket with a white logo on the left, and light-colored jeansThe Austin Police Department is searching fo...

'Outcoached, outplayed': Longhorns no longer ranked after being swept by Oklahoma at home

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:18:53 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Texas head coach David Pierce said he was embarrassed following Oklahoma's 3-game sweep in Austin, and that in turn caused the Texas Longhorns to fall out of all four national college baseball polls released Monday.Texas fell to 8-7 in Big 12 Conference play after three losses to the Sooners, who entered the series 4-8 in conference play and 19-19 overall. Previously ranked No. 14 in both the D1Baseball.com, Baseball America and USA Today Coaches polls, along with a No. 12 ranking by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper, the Longhorns are no longer considered part of the best 25 teams in college baseball for now.MORE THAN THE SCORE: Stay up to date on sports stories like these, and sign up for our More than the Score sports newsletter at kxan.com/newsletters"It's not because just because it was against the University of Oklahoma, but you know, we were embarrassingly bad," Pierce said after the third game of the series, which was the second game of a doubleheader April 22. T...

Twins roll past Yankees behind another stellar Sonny Gray start

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:18:53 GMT

Jorge Polanco has returned from the injured list with a four-game hitting streak.The Twins second baseman didn’t play until starting a three-game series against the Washington Nationals last Friday. After Minnesota’s 6-1 victory over the Yankees at Target Field on Monday, Polanco was hitting .412 with a homer, double and four RBIs since returning from inflammation in his left knee.Polanco went 2 for 5 and drove in three runs, and starter Sonny Gray (3-0) pitched seven scoreless innings to lower his earned-run average to 0.62 in five starts as the Twins won for the second time in two days and increased their American League Central lead over Cleveland to two games.Joey Gallo hit his sixth home run, a solo shot to start the fourth inning, and Max Kepler went 3 for 5 with three runs scored from the leadoff spot.Minnesota knocked Yankees starter Jhony Brito (2-2) in a three-run third inning. Christian Vazquez started with a walk and moved to second on Michael A. Taylor’s single to cente...

Lithium-ion battery causes fire in Greene County building

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:18:53 GMT

GREENE COUNTY, N.Y. (NEWS10) — Lithium-ion batteries power so many devices we use daily, but they are also linked to more fires. Fire officials are warning people about how these batteries may seem small but can still cause a massive fire. The most recent fire happened inside a Greene County office full of people right before the weekend.According to officials, the office employees were in the room Friday afternoon when the fire broke out. But Shaun S. Groden, Greene County Administrator,  said everyone acted calm and fast. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! “The staff immediately used a fire extinguisher to extinguish the small blaze,” he said. “It never got to the point where the sprinkler system hadn’t engaged. So it was pretty well- quickly contained.”According to Rob Leonard from the Firefighters Association of the State of New York (FASNY), lithium-ion batteries can be found in most electronic devices. Still, not enough ...

Cobleskill woman killed in Montgomery County car crash

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:18:53 GMT

CHARLESTON, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- A woman has died after a single car crash in Montgomery County. The crash took place around 1:30 a.m. Saturday in the area of State Highway 30A and Fox Street in the town of Charleston. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! Police said the driver was ejected from the vehicle and died from her injuries at St. Mary's Hospital in Amsterdam. She was identified as 31-year-old Brianna Scott, of Cobleskill. Alcohol and speed were contributing factors in the crash, according to police.