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Pipeline operators to pay $12.5M after crude oil spills in Montana, North Dakota

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:48:00 GMT

By JACK DURA (Associated Press)BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Two pipeline operators have agreed to pay a $12.5 million civil penalty related to crude oil spills in Montana and North Dakota.The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Monday announced the settlement in a 2022 federal court lawsuit. Belle Fourche Pipeline Company and Bridger Pipeline LLC will pay the $12.5 million to resolve the claims made under the Clean Water Act and Pipeline Safety Laws, the EPA said. The affiliated companies own and operate oil pipelines in Montana, North Dakota and Wyoming.In 2015, Bridger’s Poplar Pipeline broke and spilled more than 50,000 gallons (about 190,000 liters) of crude into the Yellowstone River near Glendive, Montana. Bridger has completed cleanup of the site, and in 2021 settled a lawsuit with federal and Montana authorities for $2 million. Montana’s Department of Environmental Quality previously fined Bridger $1 million in the case.In 2016, Belle Fourche’s Bicentenn...

Boston Mayor Wu bans fossil fuels in new city-owned building construction

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:48:00 GMT

In the latest push for her Green New Deal, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu signed an executive order that prohibits city-owned buildings from being constructed or renovated in a way that allows for the use of fossil fuels.The order, which went into effect after it was signed on Monday afternoon, is part of the mayor’s larger effort to implement a similar ban on new residential buildings, her office said, a plan that has drawn the ire of certain real-estate groups.“This executive order is a long time coming,” Wu said at a City Hall press conference. “It is dealing with what is fully within the city’s control in terms of public buildings that will be newly built or undergoing a major reconstruction and renovation, and committing that they will be fossil-fuel free.”Boston’s Green New Deal Director Oliver Sellers-Garcia said these municipal buildings will be constructed or renovated in a way that doesn’t allow for the use of fossil fuels like coal, oil or natural gas in heating and cooling, ho...

San Francisco prosecutors lay out case against consultant in killing of Cash App’s Bob Lee

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:48:00 GMT

By JANIE HAR (Associated Press)SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — DNA from a bloody knife and video footage are crucial pieces of evidence against a tech consultant charged with murder in the stabbing death of Cash App founder Bob Lee, who was found bleeding on a deserted San Francisco street in April, prosecutors argued Monday.The San Francisco prosecutor’s office began laying out its case against Nima Momeni, 38, at a preliminary hearing in which a judge will decide if there’s enough evidence to go to trial.Prosecutors say Momeni planned the attack, drove Lee to a secluded spot and stabbed him three times after a dispute related to Momeni’s younger sister.They have not spelled out a motive, but previously offered a timeline in a case that has drawn outsized media attention, partly due to Lee’s status in the tech world. Lee created Cash App, a mobile payment service, and was the chief product officer of the cryptocurrency MobileCoin. Momeni, who has been in jail sin...

US needs win or draw to avoid risk of elimination in group play for first time in Women’s World Cup

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:48:00 GMT

By JENNA FRYER (AP National Writer)AUCKLAND, New Zealand (AP) — The United States arrived at the Women’s World Cup as the favorite to win an unprecedented third consecutive title. But after an underwhelming draw against the Netherlands, there’s a real chance the Americans could be eliminated in group play for the first time in tournament history.The U.S. plays Portugal in the third and final match of Group E play, and if Portugal pulls off an upset Tuesday at Eden Park in Auckland, the Americans could be in big trouble. The United States needs to either win or draw against Portugal, one of eight teams playing in its first World Cup, to ensure the Americans continue to play in this tournament. “I think we feel like we have to win everything all the time,” said American star Megan Rapinoe. “That’s the expectation for ourselves. That’s the expectation playing for U.S. national team. It’s just kind of like, ‘Why would you come ...

The NBA’s new CBA is squeezing the league’s middle class

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:48:00 GMT

Former Orlando Magic forward Bol Bol posted career-highs in scoring, rebounding and blocked shots as a promising seven-footer with guard-like skills last season.Yet when it was time for the market to dictate his worth in contract negotiations, the 24-year-old Bol settled on a one-year veteran’s minimum deal with the Phoenix Suns worth just $2.165 million.Such is the state of affairs for NBA players who don’t classify as franchise cornerstones but are looking to be paid fair market value in salary under the league’s new collective bargaining agreement.While NBA teams dedicate an average of two-thirds of this season’s $136M salary cap to the top-three players on their roster, the league’s middle class suddenly finds itself squeezed thin.Of the approximate $3.8B in player salaries signed away this summer, $2.5B, or 64%, is split among just 19 players, ranging from Boston’s Jaylen Brown — who just signed the richest contract in NBA history ̵...

Sharks along Nantucket: A researcher has tagged 100-plus sharks there as population rebounds

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:48:00 GMT

While much of the shark focus is centered on great whites along Cape Cod this time of year, another shark species has been making waves in recent years off of Nantucket.Sandbar sharks, after the local population was decimated decades ago because of overfishing, are now all over the Nantucket coast — and a researcher at the New England Aquarium has tagged more than 120 sandbar sharks in the area.Caroline Collatos, a PhD student and shark researcher at the New England Aquarium’s Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life, has been catching, tagging and releasing sandbar sharks off of Nantucket for the last three years.“We’re starting to see a potential rebound now with sandbar sharks,” Collatos recently told the Herald, noting that there weren’t nearly as many sandbar sharks in the water when growing up in the 1990s.The local shark population had been wiped out because of overfishing for their large dorsal fin, which was highly desired for shark soup.Then...

US needs win or draw to avoid risk of elimination in group play for first time in Women's World Cup

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:48:00 GMT

AUCKLAND, New Zealand (AP) — The United States arrived at the Women's World Cup as the favorite to win an unprecedented third consecutive title. But after an underwhelming draw against the Netherlands, there's a real chance the Americans could be eliminated in group play for the first time in tournament history.The U.S. plays Portugal in the third and final match of Group E play, and if Portugal pulls off an upset Tuesday at Eden Park in Auckland, the Americans could be in big trouble. The United States needs to either win or draw against Portugal, one of eight teams playing in its first World Cup, to ensure the Americans continue to play in this tournament. “I think we feel like we have to win everything all the time,” said American star Megan Rapinoe. “That’s the expectation for ourselves. That’s the expectation playing for U.S. national team. It’s just kind of like, ‘Why would you come into the World Cup if you don’t think that you should win it, and if you don’t think that you c...

Clippers’ Amir Coffey arrested on suspicion of carrying a concealed firearm in a vehicle, police say

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:48:00 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Los Angeles Clippers shooting guard Amir Coffey was arrested early Sunday on a firearms misdemeanor in Hollywood, authorities said.Coffey, 26, was a passenger in a vehicle that police pulled over for speeding shortly before 2 a.m., according to Los Angeles Police Officer Tony Im, a department spokesperson.Coffey was cited for carrying a concealed firearm in a vehicle, Im said. He was released on his own recognizance from a county jail on $10,000 bail.He is scheduled to appear in court on Aug. 24, jail records show.The driver was cited for speeding, and another passenger received a misdemeanor for possession of marijuana, Im said. Coffey has been with the Clippers for four seasons.“We’re aware of a legal situation involving Amir Coffey and are looking into it,” the team said in a statement on Monday.It’s possible that Coffey could face sanctions from the NBA. The league typically reviews all matters of personal and criminal conduct and can issue a fine or sus...

Appeals court lets Kentucky enforce ban on transgender care for minors

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:48:00 GMT

A federal appeals court is allowing Kentucky to enforce a recently enacted ban on gender-affirming care for young transgender people while the issue is being litigated.The 2-1 decision Monday from the Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati is not unexpected. The same three-judge panel ruled the same way earlier this month on a similar case in Tennessee.The Kentucky law, enacted this year over the veto of Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear, prevents transgender minors from accessing puberty blockers and hormone therapy.At least 20 states have now enacted laws restricting or banning gender-affirming medical care for transgender minors. Most of those states face lawsuits. A federal judge struck down Arkansas’ ban as unconstitutional. In other states, judges have issued disparate rulings on whether the laws can be enforced while the cases are being litigated.In Kentucky, U.S. District Judge David Hale had initially blocked Kentucky from enforcing the ban. But he lifted that injunct...

U.S. needs win or draw to avoid risk of elimination from Women’s World Cup

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:48:00 GMT

AUCKLAND, New Zealand (AP) — The United States arrived at the Women’s World Cup as the favourite to win an unprecedented third consecutive title. But after an underwhelming draw against the Netherlands, there’s a real chance the Americans could be eliminated in group play for the first time in tournament history.The U.S. plays Portugal in the third and final match of Group E play, and if Portugal pulls off an upset Tuesday at Eden Park in Auckland, the Americans could be in big trouble. The U.S. needs to either win or draw against Portugal, one of eight teams playing in its first World Cup, to ensure the Americans continue to play in this tournament. “I think we feel like we have to win everything all the time,” said American star Megan Rapinoe.“That’s the expectation for ourselves. That’s the expectation playing for U.S. national team. It’s just kind of like, ‘Why would you come into the World Cup if you don’t think that you should win it, and if you don’t think that yo...