Rio de Janeiro police have a new target: hard-to-find stuffed toys
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Police in Rio de Janeiro executed 16 search warrants targeting claw machines that thrill children and adults alike in the city. But police said in a statement that the machines trick users into believing winning a stuffed toy is a test of skill. In fact, they are games of chance, just like slot machines, and therefore illegal. Police seized claw machines, laptops, tablets, cellphones, firearms and stuffed toys on Wednesday. Police are investigating the possibility that organized crime is hiding behind the claw machines.
Scientists say the unprocessed Alaskan glacier melt that Ludacris drank was perfectly fine.
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Rapper-turned-actor Chris “Ludacris” Bridges recently drew concern from his social media followers after kneeling on an Alaskan glacier and dipping an empty plastic bottle into a clear, bluish puddle of glacial meltwater. Some worried he might get sick from drinking untreated water. But glaciologist Martin Truffer called the online furor “absurd.” Truffer said the rapper is “totally fine.” He said glacial meltwater is not subject to biological activity and is “some of the cleanest water you're ever going to get.” Ludacris had visited the Knik Glacier while performing at the Alaska State Fair.
What movies are popular at the cinema? Old movies and not so old movies
NEW YORK (AP) — Look at most movie theater marquees these days and you'll see a few old movies as well as new releases. With nearly every movie a few clicks away from home, nothing is more popular on the big screen than yesterday's movies. Repertory films that were once the preserve of arthouses are now joining multiplexes. Ticket sales can also soar. In the past two weeks, Laika Studios' popular stop-motion movie “Coraline” has grossed more than $25 million, a staggering amount for a film that's 15 years old. A host of movies are celebrating their milestone releases this fall, including “Shaun of the Dead,” “Paris, Texas,” “Whiplash,” “Hoop Dreams” and “Interstellar.”
Workers destroy major dam on Klamath River, 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 have destroyed the last dam in a major stretch of the Klamath River, clearing the way for salmon to swim freely in 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 been channeling water upstream of the Iron Gate and Copco No. 1 dams, which have already been nearly completely removed. The work will allow the river to flow freely through its historic channel, giving salmon access 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.
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