Workers are breaching Klamath dams, which will allow salmon to swim freely for the first time in a century
Workers are breaching the final dams on a key section of the Klamath River, clearing the way for salmon to swim freely through a major watershed near the California-Oregon border for the first time in more than a century as the largest dam removal project in U.S. history nears completion. Crews used excavators Wednesday to breach rock dams that have been diverting water upstream of two dams that were already almost completely removed, Iron Gate and Copco No. 1. The work will allow the river to flow freely in its historic channel, giving salmon a passageway to key swaths of habitat just in time for the fall spawning season of Chinook, or king salmon.
Killings of invasive owls to ramp up on US West Coast in a bid to save native birds
U.S. wildlife officials next year will scale up efforts to kill invasive barred owls that are crowding out imperiled native owls from West Coast forests. Federal officials said Wednesday they’ve approved a 30-year plan to kill up to 452,000 barred owls in Oregon, California and Washington state. The killings are meant to relieve pressure on declining populations of spotted owls, which are smaller and need larger territories to survive. Researchers say the plan faces challenges from barred owls returning to areas where they’ve been removed. The prospect of killing one bird species to save others has divided wildlife advocates. Government officials say they are trying to save spotted owls from extinction.
Court revives Sarah Palin’s libel lawsuit against The New York Times
NEW YORK (AP) — A federal appeals court has revived Sarah Palin’s libel case against The New York Times. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday. The appeals court wrote that Judge Jed S. Rakoff’s dismissal of the lawsuit while a jury was deliberating improperly intruded on the jury’s work in February 2022. It also found that the erroneous exclusion of evidence, an inaccurate jury instruction and an erroneous response to a question from the jury tainted the jury’s ruling against Palin. A lawyer for Palin says he is reviewing the ruling. A Times spokesperson says that the decision is disappointing but that the newspaper is confident it will prevail in a retrial.
Suspect in fatal shooting arrested after he falls through ceiling of Memphis home
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — The U.S. Marshals service says a suspect in a fatal shooting in Tennessee was arrested after he fell through the ceiling of a home where he was hiding. Twenty-year-old Deario Wilkerson was arrested Monday in Memphis by a U.S. Marshals Service task force that looks for fugitives in West Tennessee. Authorities say Wilkerson had been charged with first-degree murder and reckless endangerment with a deadly weapon in the fatal shooting of Troy Cunningham in Memphis on April 2. The task force had tracked Wilkerson to a Memphis home and surrounded the house. Wilkerson, who was hiding in the attic, was arrested after he fell through the ceiling. He was not hurt.
Body of Delta Air Lines worker who died in tire explosion was unrecognizable, son says
ATLANTA (AP) — The son of a worker who died in a tire explosion at a Delta Air Lines maintenance facility near the Atlanta airport says his father’s body was unrecognizable. Andre Coleman told Atlanta’s 11Alive news station Tuesday that he wanted to see 58-year-old Mirko Marweg because he didn’t believe he was dead. But the family had to rely on tattoos and a Mississippi State lanyard around Marweg’s neck to confirm his identity after a medical examiner told them the body was unrecognizable. Marweg was among two workers who died Tuesday while wheel components were being disassembled for maintenance at a wheel and brake shop. A third worker was seriously injured.
K-pop singer Taeil leaves boyband NCT over accusation of an unspecified sexual crime, his label says
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korean singer Taeil has left K-pop band NCT after being accused of an unspecified sexual crime. His agency, SM Entertainment, released a statement Wednesday on X, saying the NCT member will depart from the boy band after learning he has been “accused in a criminal case related to a sexual crime.” The label did not specify the nature of the crime, adding that he’s fully cooperating with the police investigation. Taeil was part of NCT, a globally popular South Korean boy band that debuted in 2016. SM Entertainment’s statement garnered over 45.7 million views in less than three hours.
Sweaty corn is making it even more humid
Corn sweat is the process by which corn plants release moisture into the air to stay cool, and it brings the Midwest a surge in humidity every summer. Now, climate change and evolving agriculture are making the phenomenon even stickier. More corn is being planted more densely partly due to the drive for corn-based ethanol. And warmer temperatures are driving corn to sweat more as they work harder to cool off. It all adds up to more of the steamy misery seen across the United States in recent days.
What to know about the Oropouche virus, also known as sloth fever
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. health officials say more than 20 people returning to the U.S. from Cuba had been infected with a virus transmitted by bugs. They all had Oropouche virus disease, also known as sloth fever. None have died, and there is no evidence that it’s spreading in the United States. But officials are warning U.S. doctors to be on the lookout for the infection in travelers coming from Cuba and South America. The virus is spread to humans by infected biting midges and certain types of mosquitoes.
Uruguayan soccer player Juan Izquierdo dies in the hospital days after collapsing during a game in Brazil
SAO PAULO (AP) — Uruguayan soccer player Juan Izquierdo has died at a hospital in Brazil five days after collapsing during a game in Sao Paulo. He was 27. Hospital Albert Einstein in Sao Paulo issued a statement Tuesday saying Izquierdo died following “cardiorespiratory arrest associated with his cardiac arrhythmia.” Izquierdo collapsed last Thursday while playing for Uruguayan club Nacional in a Copa Libertadores match at Sao Paulo. Uruguay’s air force said one of its planes will transport his coffin to Montevideo later on Wednesday.
Questions about the safety of Tesla’s ‘Full Self-Driving’ system are growing
DETROIT (AP) — Tesla says its vehicles that are equipped with the latest versions of its vaunted Full Self-Driving system can travel from point to point with little human intervention. Yet a series of alarming recent incidents have drawn the attention of federal regulators, who were already investigating Tesla’s automated driving systems because of dozens of crashes that raised safety concerns. The problems have led people who monitor autonomous vehicles to become more skeptical that Tesla’s system will ever be able to operate safely on a widespread scale. Some analysts say they doubt that Tesla is even close to deploying a fleet of autonomous robotaxis by next year as CEO Elon Musk has predicted it will.
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