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Gang behind slaughter of 41 women at Honduran prison, officials say

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:00:00 GMT

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AP) — Inmates had complained for weeks they were being threatened by gang members at a women’s prison in Honduras. The gang fulfilled those threats, slaughtering 41 women, many of them burned, shot or stabbed to death.President Xiomara Castro said Tuesday’s riot at the prison in the town of Tamara, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) northwest of Honduras’ capital, was “planned by maras (street gangs) with the knowledge and acquiescence of security authorities.” Castro pledged to take “drastic measures,” but did not explain how inmates identified as members of the Barrio 18 gang were able to get guns and machetes into the prison, or move freely into an adjoining cell block and slaughter all the prisoners there.Video clips presented by the government from inside the prison showed several pistols and a heap of machetes and other bladed weapons that were found after the riot. Sandra Rodríguez Vargas, the assistant commissioner for Honduras’ prison sy...

Underwater noises heard in frantic search for submersible missing with 5 aboard near Titanic

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:00:00 GMT

A Canadian military surveillance aircraft detected underwater noises as a massive search continued early Wednesday in a remote part of the North Atlantic for a submersible that vanished while taking five people down to the wreck of the Titanic.A statement from the U.S. Coast Guard did not elaborate on what rescuers believed the noises could be, though it offered a glimmer of hope for those lost abroad the Titan as estimates suggest as little as a day’s worth of oxygen could be left if the vessel is still functioning.Meanwhile, questions remain about how teams could reach the lost submersible, which could be as deep as about 12,500 feet (3,800 meters) below the surface near the watery tomb of the historic ocean liner. Lost aboard the vessel are pilot Stockton Rush, the CEO of the company leading the expedition. His passengers are a British adventurer, two members of a Pakistani business family and a Titanic expert.The Coast Guard wrote on Twitter that a Canadian P-3 Orion had “...

Canadian plane detects underwater noise in sub search at Titanic wreck site

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:00:00 GMT

A Canadian aircraft has detected underwater noise during its search for a lost sub near the wreck of the Titanic in the Atlantic Ocean.The U.S. Coast Guard says the Canadian military plane’s detection of noise while looking for the missing submersible has caused search efforts to be relocated in an effort to find the source of the sound.There is no word on exactly what the sounds detected could indicate, but rescuers are racing to find the vessel, carrying five people, before the air supply runs out, as early as Thursday morning.The news has offered up a glimmer of hope that the sub and its crew can be rescued after losing contact days ago during its descent to the wreck of the ill-fated luxury liner, which sank in 1912.The U.S. Coast Guard wrote on Twitter that the noises led searchers to move an underwater robot to the area to investigate. Those searches “have yielded negative results but continue,” the Coast Guard said.“The data from the P-3 aircraft has been shared with ou...

Lawsuit: Company’s insufficient testing of Titanic sub put passengers in ‘potential extreme danger’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:00:00 GMT

SEATTLE (AP) — The company whose submersible vanished in the North Atlantic on a tourist dive to the wreck of the Titanic was repeatedly warned that there might be “catastrophic” safety problems with the venture, documents show.With five people aboard a vessel that if still functioning would have a dwindling amount of oxygen remaining, an expanding international fleet of ships and airplanes is searching for the Titan, operated by OceanGate Expeditions. The undersea exploration company based in Everett, Washington, has been making yearly voyages to the Titanic since 2021. In the first piece of good news since the search began, a Canadian aircraft detected underwater noises, though the vessel has not been found, the U.S. Coast Guard reported early Wednesday.David Lochridge, OceanGate’s director of marine operations, wrote an engineering report in 2018 that said the craft under development needed more testing and that passengers might be endangered when it reached “extreme depths,” acc...

A Titanic expert, an adventurer, a CEO, and a father and son are on the missing submersible

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:00:00 GMT

BOSTON (AP) — A renowned Titanic expert, a world-record holding adventurer, two members of one of Pakistan’s wealthiest families and the CEO of the company leading an expedition to the world’s most famous shipwreck are facing critical danger aboard a small submersible that went missing in the Atlantic Ocean.The submersible Titan was reported overdue Sunday night about 435 miles (700 kilometers) south of St. John’s, Newfoundland, according to Canada’s Joint Rescue Coordination Center, spurring a desperate international rescue effort. Rescuers were racing against the clock because the oxygen supply could run out by approximately 6 a.m. Thursday.A Canadian aircraft detected underwater noises during the hunt for the Titan. The U.S. Coast Guard said via Twitter early Wednesday that as a result of the noises detected by the Canadian P-3 patrol aircraft, search efforts have been relocated and the data is being used to help guide the ongoing effort. The expedition featuring the ...

Wisconsin lawmakers poised to approve liquor law overhaul

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:00:00 GMT

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin lawmakers are poised to approve a massive overhaul of the laws governing the state’s multibillion-dollar liquor industry, a proposal supported by the smallest craft brewers to the largest national brewers, bar owners and alcohol distributors.The sweeping update to the laws affecting the production, distribution and sale of alcohol has bipartisan support, and has been years in the making. The state Assembly is scheduled to pass it on Wednesday, which would then send it to the Senate for final approval. Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, who was involved with discussions of the measure, is expected to sign it into law.The bill would create a new division within the state Department of Revenue, which would be in charge of overseeing and enforcing the state’s alcohol laws. The absence of such a unit now has led to inconsistent enforcement of the law — and questions over how they affect new businesses that weren’t envisioned when the laws were en...

Planned Israeli settlement threatens West Bank UNESCO site ecosystem

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:00:00 GMT

BATTIR, West Bank (AP) — Generations of Palestinians have worked the terraced hillsides of this West Bank farming village southwest of Jerusalem, growing olives, fruits, beans and exquisite eggplants renowned across the region in a valley linked to the biblical King David.But residents fear their ancient way of life could soon be in danger as Israel’s far-right government moves ahead with a settlement project on a nearby hilltop. Environmental groups say the construction could devastate already strained water sources supplying the agricultural terraces and cause extensive damage to an already precarious ecosystem.Battir’s plight shines a light on how the trappings of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict — settlements, land disputes and military activity — can take a toll on the region’s environment, natural resources and cultural heritage.The proposed construction “will grab a great amount of land, and you don’t know where it will end,” said Rashid Owinah, 58, whose family has farmed in...

Allies seek big-business investment to rebuild Ukraine at London conference

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:00:00 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Diplomats from dozens of countries are meeting Wednesday in London to drum up funds to rebuild Ukraine, a mammoth task whose cost is estimated by the World Bank at more than $400 billion – a figure rising daily alongside the human toll of the 16-month war.U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is due to announce a new package of U.S. assistance at the Ukraine Recovery Conference, which is both a fundraising forum and a message to Russia that Ukraine’s allies are in it for the long haul.Blinken, U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen are among international representatives at the gathering, which hopes to get big businesses to back Ukraine.“(It’s) very much about encouraging the private sector to invest in Ukraine’s rebuilding and recovery,” British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said Tuesday. To do that, he said, “we need to demonstrate that those investments will be effective and that they will be safe” by underwriting...

Fights break out among crowds protesting Pride curriculum in Glendale schools

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:00:00 GMT

Fights broke out among protestors who gathered outside the Glendale Unified School District’s board meeting Tuesday night, weeks after violence broke out amid a previous meeting discussing the subject of LGBTQ+ Pride and its inclusion in classrooms.With an estimated 200 people in attendance, demonstrators from both sides showed up to either support or protest the board’s resolution to include Pride curriculum in classrooms.A large police presence was visible as barricades were set up to contain crowds gathered in the parking lot. Officers dressed in riot gear aimed to dissuade any potential violence from breaking out.Earlier in the afternoon, protestors rushed the building at one point, but Glendale Police were able to de-escalate the situation. Hours later, video from the scene showed things turning violent before officers were forced to intervene.Although discussions over LGBTQ+ curriculum were not on the agenda Tuesday night, demonstrators were still protesting the inclusion...

Family of bobcats moves into Claremont man’s backyard

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:00:00 GMT

Residents in a Claremont neighborhood are concerned after a family of bobcats moved into a resident’s backyard. The wild cats haven’t caused any trouble yet, but residents are worried they could become a threat.Video footage from Patrick Cullen’s Claremont home shows a sighting of a mother bobcat and her two kittens near some furniture patio and then later returning to the backyard. "It was a strange-looking cat initially and then I saw it,” Cullen said. “I started looking a little more intently at it and I was like, 'Oh, that’s a bobcat.' Then I saw the two little ones wander in.” Residents in a Claremont neighborhood are concerned after a family of bobcats moved into a resident’s backyard.(Source: Patrick Cullen)The wild cats, which are generally small in size and often prey on rodents, can still become aggressive on rare occasions when they feel threatened. Mackenzie Rich, conflict specialist with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, says people who find...