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New York considers ban on cash prize contests for hunting coyotes, squirrels, some other wildlife

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:57 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — The contests have names such as Predator Slam, Squirrel Scramble and Final Fling for Fox, sometimes challenging hunters to bag the heaviest coyote or the heftiest bunch of squirrels to win a cash prize. While participants seek prey in the name of fundraising, animal rights advocates are training their sights on contests they see as senseless slaughters. With bans in eight states, activists are now looking to New York, where Gov. Kathy Hochul is considering a proposal recently approved by the Legislature.“It’s wrong that fringe groups in these extreme contests can use our wildlife resources for money,” said Brian Shapiro, New York state director of the Humane Society of the United States. “I can’t think of any other natural resource that is used that way.”Opponents want to put an end to annual events held around upstate New York that target wildlife like coyotes, rabbits, raccoons and foxes.Campaigns against the competitions often feature pictures of coyote carcas...

Lotto 649 winning numbers for Wednesday, July 19, 2023

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:57 GMT

TORONTO — The winning numbers in Wednesday’s Lotto 649 draw for an estimated $5 million: 15, 25, 30, 31, 40 & 48.Bonus: 22 The winning number for the guaranteed $1 million: 67514930-02In the event of any discrepancy between this list and the official winning numbers, the latter shall prevail. The Canadian Press

Record Heat in Three Continents; U.S. Dome of Heat to Expand.

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:57 GMT

Extreme heat broiling broad sections of three continents setting new heat records which eclipse any readings recorded over the instrument age extending back to the late 1880'sPhoenix, AZ which recorded a 118° high temp on Tuesday and has seen the most consecutive 105° or higher max temps (19 of them) logged a record high nighttime min overnight of 97°, the 9th consecutive low temp at or above 90°, another new record—NASA scientist, Dr. James Hansen, credited with sounding the first widespread alarm of our move toward a superheated climate in testimony before congress in the late 1980s says "we are damned fools” for not acting vigorously on warnings of a superheated climate.Hansen's comments are contained in this article Wednesday morning in The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/.../climate-crisis-james...ABOUT THE HEAT IN PHOENIX, ARIZONAPhoenix isn't alone in this country with the heat—far from it. But as the Associated Press notes in its reporting on the heat there: "No other ...

Progressing Aaron Judge talks Shohei Ohtani’s pursuit of history: ‘Records are meant to be broken’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:57 GMT

ANAHEIM – If Shohei Ohtani breaks the American League’s single-season home run record this year, Aaron Judge won’t be disappointed.“Records are meant to be broken,” said Judge, who set the bar at 62 last season. “It’s just a record, and it’ll be exciting for the game if he went out there and got 63-plus. So we’ll see what happens.”The red-hot Ohtani, who went deep against the Yankees on Monday, entered Wednesday’s game with 35 homers in 94 contests, putting the two-way sensation slightly behind Judge’s 2022 pace. Judge had 37 home runs through 94 games last year, and he ultimately topped Roger Maris in his 161st game.Of course, a multi-homer night here and there could change Ohtani’s trajectory. Judge isn’t too preoccupied with the chase as he recovers from a torn ligament in his right big toe, but he knows he’ll get another crack at the record if Ohtani surpasses him this year.“I still g...

Jason Aldean’s new music video was filmed at a lynching site. A big country music network pulled it.

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:57 GMT

By MARIA SHERMAN (AP Music Writer)Country music star Jason Aldean ‘s latest music video for “Try That In A Small Town,” lasted just one weekend on Country Music Television before the network pulled it in response to an outcry over its setting and lyrics.In the video, Aldean — who has been awarded country music artist of the decade by the Academy of Country Music — performs in front of the Maury County Courthouse in Columbia, Tennessee. This is the site of the 1946 Columbia race riot and the 1927 mob lynching of an 18-year-old Black teenager named Henry Choate.Aldean’s video, which was released last Friday, has received fervent criticism online, with some claiming the visual is a “dog whistle” and others labeling it “pro-lynching.”Interspersed between performance footage of Aldean are news clips of violent riots and flag burning. A Fox News chyron reads: “State of emergency declared in Georgia.”“Cuss out a ...

Twins bats stay hot, and so does Jhoan Duran in 6-3 victory over Mariners

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:57 GMT

SEATTLE — Luis Castillo came into Wednesday’s game against the Twins with a 6-7 record, but that was deceiving. The right-hander had struck out 122 batters and walked only 28 in 112⅓ innings and could boast of a 2.96 earned-run average.So, after the Twins beat the Mariners, 6-3, to improve to 5-1 on their West Coast road trip, they were particularly proud of how they handled Castillo, even if the veteran did give Seattle a quality start.The Twins touched Castillo for three earned runs on six hits, two of them solo home runs from Edouard Julien and Max Kepler, and had him on the hook for a 3-0 deficit before Seattle tied the game on Eugenio Suarez’s two-run homer in the seventh inning.The Twins scored the go-ahead run when Max Kepler scored on a passed ball by Seattle catcher Tom Murphy, and Alex Kirilloff added a two-run homer in the ninth before Jhoan Duran pitched the ninth for his 16th save, getting out of a jam with the help of some 104 mph fastballs.Yet, getting Castillo out of...

Russia strikes Ukraine grain port after exiting export deal

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:57 GMT

Russia struck Ukrainian ports on Tuesday (18 July), a day after pulling out of a UN-backed deal to let Kyiv export grain, and Moscow claimed gains on the ground in an area where Ukrainian officials said Russian forces were going back on the offensive.Russia said it hit fuel storage in Odesa and a plant making seaborne drones there, as part of "mass revenge strikes" in retaliation for attacks by Ukraine that knocked out its road bridge to the occupied Crimean Peninsula.Shortly after the bridge was hit on Monday (17 July), Moscow withdrew from a year-old UN-brokered grain export deal, a move the United Nations said risked creating hunger around the world.Falling debris and blast waves damaged several homes and unspecified port infrastructure in one of Ukraine's main ports, Odesa, according to Ukraine's southern operational military command. Local authorities in Mykolaiv, another port, described a serious fire there.The Russian attacks on ports provide "further proof that the country-t...

Jackpot! Winning $1 billion Powerball ticket sold in Los Angeles

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:57 GMT

One lucky Southern Californian is the state’s newest billionaire after a winning ticket was drawn for Wednesday night's Powerball lottery.The winning ticket matching all six numbers was sold at the Las Palmitas Mini Market located at 1205 Wall Street in downtown L.A. near the Skid Row neighborhood.The lucky winner is confirmed to be the sole ticket holder across the U.S. to match all numbers for the jackpot, according to Powerball.The winning numbers drawn on Wednesday, July 19 were: 7, 10, 11, 13, and 24, and red Powerball 24. The Power Play multiplier was 2X.The jackpot winner is joined by seven other lucky Californians who matched five out of six numbers.Those players, who hit five numbers without the Powerball, will go home $448,750 richer, according to officials.All winning California tickets were sold in these locations — La Puente, Los Angeles, Northridge, Hayward, South Lake Tahoe, Santa Clara, and San Francisco.Wednesday’s billion-dollar drawing is the third-largest Powerba...

SpaceX successfully launches, lands Falcon 9 rocket from California base

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:57 GMT

SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in Southern California on Wednesday night.The rocket successfully lifted off from the base at 9:09 p.m. PDT and is carrying a group of Starlink satellites into orbit.The launch was visible to onlookers hundreds of miles away.Wednesday's launch was the rocket's second attempt after Tuesday night's mission was aborted five seconds before a scheduled lift-off time of 10:25 p.m.According to the company, 15 satellites were carried to low-Earth orbit during Wednesday night’s mission.Starlink is SpaceX’s satellite network designed to bring low-cost internet service to rural/remote communities.After previous successful launches, Starlink now boasts over 4,200 functional satellites orbiting the Earth, according to CNET. The launches are part of the company’s goal to build a giant constellation of broadband satellites across the globe.Following stage separation after liftoff, the Falcon’s reusable booster is scheduled to l...

New video ‘justifies’ L.A. deputy slamming woman to the ground in Lancaster arrest, attorney says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:57 GMT

Newly-released video shows the moments leading up to a deputy slamming a woman to the ground during an arrest at a Lancaster grocery store.The confrontation happened on June 24 when deputies responded to reports of an in-progress robbery at a WinCo Foods store located at 740 W. Ave. K 4.Body cam footage shows deputies confronting the woman in the grocery store’s parking lot in an incident that some believe was an unjustified use of force.After viewing video of the arrest, L.A. County Sheriff Robert Luna called the incident “disturbing.”An attorney representing the deputy said new security footage of the moments leading up to the incident not only provides more context for the arrest, but justifies the actions taken by the deputy.“Upon arrival, deputies approached a man and a woman matching the description given by store security personnel in calls placed to 911,” said LASD. “As deputies attempted to detain the individuals described by store security personnel, the encounter escalate...