Workers destroy Klamath Dam, allowing salmon to swim free for the first time in a century
As the largest dam removal project in U.S. history nears completion, workers are destroying the last dam on a major stretch of the Klamath River, clearing the way for salmon to swim freely through the main watershed near the California-Oregon border for the first time in more than a century. Workers used excavators on Wednesday to destroy rock dams that had previously diverted water upstream of two dams, Iron Gate and Kopko 1, which have already been nearly completely removed. The work will allow the river to flow freely through its historic channel, providing salmon with passage to key habitat just in time for the fall spawning season of king salmon, also known as Chinook salmon.
Invasive owl culls ramp up on US West Coast to save native birds
U.S. wildlife officials will next year expand efforts to remove invasive barred owls, which are driving endangered native owls out of forests on the West Coast. Federal officials announced Wednesday they have approved a 30-year plan to remove up to 452,000 barred owls in Oregon, California and Washington. The removal is meant to relieve pressure on the birds, whose populations are declining. Barred owls are small and require larger territories to survive. Researchers say the plan faces the challenge of barred owls returning to areas where they have been removed. The prospect of removing one bird to save another has divided wildlife conservationists. Government officials say they are trying to save the barred owl from extinction.
Court reopens Sarah Palin's defamation lawsuit against The New York Times
NEW YORK (AP) — A federal appeals court has reopened Sarah Palin's defamation lawsuit against The New York Times. The 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday. The appeals court wrote that Judge Jed S. Rakoff's dismissal of the case while the jury was reaching its verdict improperly interfered with the jury's work in February 2022. It also found that erroneous exclusion of evidence, inaccurate juror instructions and incorrect answers to juror questions tainted the jury's verdict against Palin. Palin's lawyers say they are reviewing the ruling. A Times spokesman said the ruling was disappointing but that the company is confident it would prevail in a retrial.
Suspect in fatal shooting arrested after falling from ceiling of Memphis home
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — The U.S. Marshals Service said a suspect in a deadly shooting in Tennessee was arrested after falling through the ceiling of a home where he was hiding. Diario Wilkerson, 20, was arrested Monday in Memphis by a U.S. Marshals Service task force searching for fugitives in West Tennessee. Authorities said Wilkerson was charged with first-degree murder and negligent endangerment with a deadly weapon in the April 2 shooting death of Troy Cunningham in Memphis. The task force tracked Wilkerson to a Memphis home and surrounded it. Wilkerson, who was hiding in the attic, was arrested after falling through the ceiling. He was not injured.
Body of Delta Airlines worker killed in tire explosion unidentified, son says
ATLANTA (AP) — The son of a worker killed in a tire explosion at a Delta Air Lines maintenance facility near Atlanta's airport says his father's body was unrecognizable. Andre Coleman told Atlanta news station 11Alive on Tuesday he couldn't believe 58-year-old Mirko Malweg was dead and missed him. But after the medical examiner told him the body was unrecognizable, the family was forced to rely on Malweg's tattoos and the Mississippi lanyard around his neck to identify him. Malweg was one of two workers at the wheel and brake shop on Tuesday dismantling wheel parts for maintenance. A third worker was seriously injured.
K-pop singer Taeil leaves boy band NCT amid sexual assault allegations, agency announces
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korean singer Taeil has left K-pop band NCT after being accused of sexual crimes. His agency SM Entertainment released a statement to X on Wednesday saying he was leaving the boy band after learning that an NCT member had been “accused of a criminal case related to sexual crimes.” The label did not disclose the nature of the crime but added that Taeil was fully cooperating with the police investigation. Taeil was a member of the globally popular Korean boy band NCT, which debuted in 2016. SM Entertainment's statement was viewed more than 45.7 million times in less than three hours.
The sweaty corn adds to the humidity
Corn sweat, the process by which corn plants release moisture into the air to stay cool, causes humidity spikes across the Midwest every summer. Now, climate change and agricultural advances are making the phenomenon even more severe. Corn plants are being planted more densely, in part due to the growing demand for corn-based ethanol. And when temperatures rise, corn plants work harder to cool themselves, which makes them sweat more. All of this combines to exacerbate the hot and humid weather we've seen across the U.S. in recent days.
What you need to know about Oropouche virus, also known as sloth fever
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. health officials say more than 20 people who returned to the U.S. from Cuba have been infected with an insect-borne virus. All had Oropouche virus disease, also known as sloth fever. No one has died and there is no evidence the disease is spreading in the U.S. But officials are warning U.S. doctors to be on the lookout for infections in travelers coming from Cuba and South America. The virus is transmitted to people by infected midges and certain types of mosquitoes.
Uruguayan soccer player Juan Izquierdo collapses during a match in Brazil and dies in hospital days later
SAO PAULO (AP) — Uruguayan soccer player Juan Izquierdo has died in a Brazilian hospital five days after collapsing during a game in Sao Paulo. He was 27. Sao Paulo's Albert Einstein Hospital said Tuesday that Izquierdo died of “cardiac arrest secondary to arrhythmia.” Izquierdo collapsed last Thursday while playing for Uruguayan club Nacional in a Copa Libertadores match in Sao Paulo. The Uruguayan Air Force said one of its planes would transport his coffin to Montevideo later Wednesday.
Questions growing about the safety of Tesla's 'Full Self-Driving' system
DETROIT (AP) — Tesla says vehicles with the latest version of its vaunted “full self-driving” system can get from point A to point B with little human intervention. But a series of surprising accidents in recent days has drawn the attention of federal regulators, who were already investigating Tesla's self-driving system after dozens of crashes that raised safety concerns. The issues have left those who monitor self-driving vehicles increasingly skeptical about whether Tesla's system can be safely operated on a wide scale. Some analysts say they doubt whether Tesla is even coming close to CEO Elon Musk's prediction of rolling out a fleet of self-driving robotaxis by next year.
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