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Maine aims to restore 19th century tribal obligations to its constitution. Voters will make the call

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:59 GMT

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Voters in Maine will likely be the ones to decide whether to restore long removed language about the state’s obligations to Native American tribes to printed versions of its constitution.The Maine Legislature is poised to give its final approval on Tuesday to a proposal to restore the language that requires Maine to honor treaties the state inherited from Massachusetts when it became its own state more than two centuries ago. The language has always applied, but was removed from printed versions of the constitution in 1876.Statewide voters would have to approve of the change to the constitution for it to take place. The date of the referendum has not yet been set.The restoration of the language to the printed constitution would improve transparency and illuminate Maine’s debts to Native American tribes, said Democratic House Speaker Rachel Talbot Ross. The language is not in the official online version of the Maine Constitution either, though it ca...

Permafrost expert and military pilot among 4 killed in a helicopter crash on Alaska’s North Slope

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:59 GMT

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A helicopter crash in Alaska took the lives of a permafrost expert from the Netherlands, a pilot who recently transitioned from the military to fly charter helicopters and two other scientists conducting field work in the North Slope, one of the remotest regions in the U.S.Ronald Daanen, 51, and Justin Germann, 27, both from Fairbanks; Tori Moore, 26, of South Bend, Indiana; and pilot Bernard “Tony” Higdon, 48, of North Pole, Alaska, all perished last week when the 1996 Bell 206 helicopter they were in crashed into a lake while they were on a scientific mission.The three passengers were employees of Alaska’s Department of Natural Resources, working in the Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys.Alaska search and rescue divers recovered the bodies of a helicopter pilot and three scientists on Sunday from the sunken wreckage of the aircraft, which went down in a shallow lake about 50 miles (80 kilometers) south of Utqiagvik — the northernmost city in ...

Study finds climate change fingerprints on July heat waves in Europe, China and America

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:59 GMT

The fingerprints of climate change are all over the intense heat waves gripping the globe this month, a new study finds. Researchers say the deadly hot spells in the American Southwest and Southern Europe could not have happened without the continuing buildup of warming gases in the air.These unusually strong heat waves are becoming more common, Tuesday’s study said. The same research found the increase in heat-trapping gases, largely from the burning of coal, oil and natural gas has made another heat wave — the one in China — 50 times more likely with the potential to occur every five years or so.A stagnant atmosphere, warmed by carbon dioxide and other gases, also made the European heat wave 4.5 degrees Fahrenheit (2.5 degrees Celsius) hotter, the one in the United States and Mexico 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit (2 degrees Celsius) warmer and the one in China one 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit (1 degree Celsius) toastier, the study found. Several climate scientists, using tree rings and ot...

Proposal before Maine lawmakers would jumpstart offshore wind projects

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:59 GMT

AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Maine is poised to launch an offshore wind program that would meet clean energy goals and produce enough power for about 900,000 homes from floating wind turbines in the Gulf of Maine.The goal calls for requests for proposals to be issued for 3,000 megawatts of electricity from offshore wind turbines by 2040. That’s enough electricity to power about half of Maine’s electricity load. The bill was revised after a veto by Democratic Gov. Janet Mills to ensure non-union companies can get into the business, setting a path to approval by the Maine Senate and House on Tuesday.Approval would put Maine on a path to catch up with other states that already have offshore wind projects. The catch, however, is that the wind turbines would be farther offshore than those projects, and would involve floating turbines. It also includes incentives aimed at ensuring wind power developers steer clear of lucrative lobster fishing grounds.The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Mark Lawrence,...

Extremist attacks wounded Paris. Here’s why the city turned to the 2024 Olympics to heal

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:59 GMT

PARIS (AP) — For the mayor of Paris, the city’s journey to next year’s Olympic Games included an epiphany born of brutality: the slaughter of 17 people by gunmen acting in the names of al-Qaida and the Islamic State group.Anne Hidalgo says the 2015 attacks at a provocative satirical newspaper and a kosher Parisian supermarket were “truly fundamental” in steering her to the idea of bringing the Games back to the French capital for the first time since 1924. With the country outraged and hurting from the bloodshed, she saw the Olympics as an opportunity for France to rebound and heal.“What really scared me at that moment was to hear young people, even children, explain that the terrorists were heroes and that Charlie was guilty of having pushed freedom of expression too far,” Hidalgo says, referring to Charlie Hebdo, the newspaper that repeatedly caricatured the Muslim Prophet Muhammad.“I said to myself that things were really, really, really bad, and that we absolut...

NATO and Ukraine to discuss Black Sea grain issue at Zelenskyy's request

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:59 GMT

NATO and Ukraine are to discuss security in the Black Sea this week, particularly the operation of a corridor for grain exports, at the request of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (pictured), the Western alliance said on Saturday (22 July).NATO spokesperson Oanu Lungescu said the NATO-Ukraine Council, set up at this month's alliance summit, would discuss the situation following Russia's withdrawal from the year-old deal overseeing grain exports from Ukrainian ports.Zelenskyy said he had requested the meeting in a telephone conversation with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg.Lungescu said the two men discussed Russia's pullout from the deal and its "continued attempts to weaponise food, which are affecting millions of vulnerable people around the world".The meeting, she said, would take place at the level of ambassadors. The council's inaugural meeting, at NATO's summit in Vilnius, was attended by heads of state or government.Zelenskyy, in his nightly video address, had ...

Man caught on camera naked, terrorizing L.A. residents

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:59 GMT

A man has been terrorizing residents of an east Hollywood apartment building and creeping around the complex naked. Fearful residents in the complex say the man keeps breaking in, walking around naked, and disturbing their peace. “He’s been trying to break into apartments,” said 27-year-old resident Vanessa Salguero. “He was walking around naked one night, just full on naked. I wasn’t able to sleep the last week or so. I developed really bad insomnia, really bad anxiety and I know everyone else has been feeling the same thing.” A man has been terrorizing residents of an east Hollywood apartment building and creeping around the complex naked. The strange man was also caught on home surveillance camera carrying a large knife on one occasion and carrying a large knife and a mask, during a separate incident. Residents say the unwelcoming visits started after another woman was taken into psychiatric hold after terrorizing those same residents and threatening to blow up the...

Single-family house sells in Palo Alto for $1.9 million

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:59 GMT

1020 Colorado Avenue – Google Street ViewA house located in the 1000 block of Colorado Avenue in Palo Alto has a new owner. The 1,194-square-foot property, built in 1953, was sold on July 7, 2023. The $1,900,000 purchase price works out to $1,591 per square foot. This single-story home offers a spacious layout with four bedrooms and two bathrooms. Inside, a fireplace adds character to the home. Additionally, the house is equipped with a one-car garage. Situated on a spacious 7,000-square-foot lot, the property offers ample outdoor space along with the added bonus of a pool.Additional houses have recently been sold nearby:A 1,663-square-foot home on the 2900 block of Otterson Court in Palo Alto sold in September 2022, for $2,735,000, a price per square foot of $1,645. The home has 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.On Maddux Drive, Palo Alto, in May 2023, a 1,530-square-foot home was sold for $2,460,000, a price per square foot of $1,608. The home has 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.In February 2...

Palo Alto man robbed of necklace in his backyard

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:59 GMT

PALO ALTO – A Palo Alto resident was robbed of a necklace in the backyard of his home early Monday, police said.The incident was reported around 12:25 a.m. in the 3000 block of Ross Road, the Palo Alto Police Department said in a news release. Officers searched the area but did not find the suspect.Police said an investigation revealed that the victim, a man in his 40s, had been in his backyard when the suspect “emerged from the foliage” and demanded money. When the victim refused, the suspect ripped a necklace from his neck and fled on foot.The victim described the suspect as a clean shaven, 5-foot-10 Latino man in his 40s with a thin build, police said. The suspect was last seen wearing a blue hooded sweatshirt and dark pants.No similar robberies have been reported in the city recently, police said.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | San Jose police arrest pair on suspicion of trafficking thousands of Adderall and fentanyl pills Crime and Public Safety | ...

'It's good to be Alive': Family welcomes newborn twins after surviving house fire

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:59 GMT

One week after a family in Woodland nearly perished in a fire, they welcomed newborn twins to the world, and they are now being helped by their community as they rebuild. Adi Komaisavai gave birth on the afternoon of July 20 to babies Helen and Tasi at Sutter Davis Hospital in Davis. Eggs from an invasive mosquito found in Roseville “Helen came first and Tasi came second, three hours later,” Komaisavai told FOX40 News. She and her husband now have four children, two girls and two boys, as they seek to rebuild their home, which was damaged by flames along with three other homes. The family says they threw towels over their faces as they barged blindly through the smoke and tore down a fence to escape the inferno. Since they survived the fire, they have been staying at a family member's house in Fairfield. The parents say that, while they were worried about having their home destroyed in the fire, they were inspired by their newborn twins. “Just holding the babies was a ...