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An Amazon rainforest rite of passage in threatened territory

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:40 GMT

ALTO RIO GUAMA INDIGENOUS TERRITORY, Brazil (AP) — The Indigenous adolescents danced in a circle under the thatched-roof hut from nearly dawn to dusk while parents looked on from the perimeter. Some of the adults smoked tobacco mixed with the wood from a local tree in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest. The seemingly endless loop of the procession, taking place over six long days this month, was leaving some Tembé Tenehara youngsters with swollen and bandaged feet. They were receiving little to eat and spending each night sleeping in hammocks slung in the hut. But in the Alto Rio Guama territory, it is all part of a vital rite of passage known as “Wyra’whaw.”Girls taking part in the coming-of-age ritual had already had their first period. Boys’ voices had begun to slip into lower registers. Upon the final day, the girls and boys would be viewed by the Teko-Haw village as women and men, and assume their roles leading the community into an uncertain future. “We know of other ethnic (Indigenou...

18-year-old trainee shot 3 soldiers at firing range on Japanese army base, killing 2, officials say

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:40 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — An 18-year-old army trainee shot three fellow soldiers at a firing range on a Japanese army base Wednesday, killing two of them, officials said.The suspect was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder at the scene in Gifu prefecture in central Japan, police said. The suspect fired a rifle at other soldiers during a shooting exercise at the Hino Kihon firing range, police said. Among the three wounded is a 25-year-old soldier, police said. The Ground Self Defense Force, Japan’s army, confirmed that two of those wounded were later pronounced dead at a hospital.A number of other people were believed to be participating in the training when the shooting occurred, but details are still under investigation, an army official said on condition of anonymity, citing protocol.Japan has been known for its safety, with strict gun control laws, but high-profile violence has occurred in recent years, including shootings and random knifings on subways and arson attacks, and there is g...

Toyota shareholders reject proposal demanding better performance on climate change

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:40 GMT

TOYOTA, Japan (AP) — Toyota executives fielded challenges and reaped praise from investors at an annual general meeting Wednesday where shareholders ultimately rejected demands the automaker do better on fighting climate change. The investor proposal was initiated by AkademikerPension, a $20 billion Danish investment fund. It accused Toyota Motor Corp. of lobbying to weaken efforts by governments around the world to phase out the internal combustion engine. Shareholders applauded in rejecting the proposal, as expected, at the meeting in Toyota city, central Japan.The majority of Toyota shares are held by the company and its group companies, retired employees and others sympathetic to the company’s perspective.The shareholders’ proposal challenged the reappointment of Toyota’s chairman, Akio Toyoda, grandson of the company founder and a board director, arguing the company has lagged in keeping up with the global shift to battery electric vehicles.Toyoda and other company ...

Milwaukee bankruptcy avoidance plan up for approval in Wisconsin Legislature

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:40 GMT

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A plan to prevent Milwaukee from going bankrupt, struck between Republican lawmakers, leaders in the heavily Democratic city and Gov. Tony Evers, was expected to win bipartisan approval Wednesday in the Wisconsin Legislature.The measure is part of a larger deal reached with the Democratic governor and Republicans who control the Legislature that also includes spending more than $1 billion more on K-12 schools. Once approved by the Legislature, the bills would head to Evers, who is expected to sign them into law.Both the Milwaukee plan and the corresponding school funding proposal have their detractors, despite the bipartisan deal. Conservatives deride the Milwaukee bill as a bailout for the state’s largest and most Democratic city and say local sales tax increases should need voter approval. The state schoolteachers union doesn’t like increasing voucher payments to private schools that are a part of the education funding plan and called on Evers to v...

Republicans delay vote on University of Wisconsin budget after promises to cut diversity funds

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:40 GMT

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Republican state lawmakers on Tuesday suspended a vote on funding for University of Wisconsin campuses, just hours after a top GOP leader promised to slash the college system’s budget as part of an ongoing fight over diversity and inclusion initiatives.Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, the state’s top Republican, told The Associated Press on Tuesday that he expected the GOP-controlled Legislature’s budget-writing committee to cut all funding that the university system would use for diversity initiatives. He estimated the cuts would total $32 million.“I hope we have the ability to eliminate that spending. The university should have already chosen to redirect it to something that is more productive and more broadly supported,” Vos said.That generated a wave of angry reactions from Gov. Tony Evers and other Democrats. After nearly seven hours of closed-door discussions, Republicans who control the finance committee could not come to an agreement and pos...

Activists work to get giraffe removed from small enclosure in dusty Mexican border city

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:40 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Benito the giraffe arrived in Mexico’s arid northern border city of Ciudad Juarez just last month, and already the climate appears to be a problem — and he’s only had to deal with the scorching heat of summer.The snow and freezing temperatures of winter are still to come, and animal activists are up in arms and pushing a campaign under the hashtag “Save Benito” seeking to have the animal moved somewhere more hospitable.On a recent day, the 3-year-old male giraffe could be seen crouching with only its head under a small, circular canopy for shade. The structure did little to protect him from a pelting rain and a hail storm later. There is also a small shed for winter, but activists say it is cruel for the city-run Central Park to keep the giraffe in a small fenced enclosure, by himself alone, with only about a half-acre to wander and few trees to nibble, in a climate he’s not used to.“We have been fighting for a month, a group of animal activists, to demand t...

Stove wars: Republican-controlled House takes up bills to protect gas stoves

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:40 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Venturing back into the nation’s culture wars, the Republican-controlled House is taking up legislation that GOP lawmakers say would protect gas stoves from overzealous government regulators.A bill approved Tuesday would prohibit use of federal funds to regulate gas stoves as a hazardous product, while a separate bill set for a vote Wednesday would block an Energy Department rule setting stricter energy efficiency standards for stovetops and ovens.Both bills were set for approval last week, but action was postponed after House conservatives staged a mini-revolt in retaliation for Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s leadership on a measure to raise the debt ceiling. Led by outspoken members of the House Freedom Caucus, 11 Republicans broke with their party on an otherwise routine procedural vote that threw the House schedule into disarray for a full week. McCarthy appeared to resolve the dispute late Monday after promising more meetings with GOP holdouts and seeki...

Carlos Correa’s walk-off home run caps four-run rally as Twins beat Brewers

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:40 GMT

The Twins paid Carlos Correa handsomely this offseason to be the face of their franchise and the lifeblood of their team. And Tuesday night, he showed everyone just why that was.As soon as he connected with a changeup from Milwaukee all-star closer Devin Williams, the shortstop turned towards the Twins’ dugout, chucked his bat away and tapped his wrist. Amazingly, it was the first-career regular-season walk-off home run for the man who was known for his late postseason heroics in Houston.As he approached his home plate, Correa pulled up and tossed his helmet into the crowd of his teammates like a basketball before allowing himself to be mobbed by them. Correa’s home run capped a furious four-run rally — that took just 14 pitches — off of Williams to send the Twins to a 7-5 win over the Brewers on Tuesday night at Target Field.“You want this guy at the plate when it’s late innings and people are in scoring position or when you need to win,” rookie Edouard Julien said. “I felt pretty ...

Woman sexually assaulted at popular Riverside hiking trail

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:40 GMT

Police are searching for a suspect after a woman was sexually assaulted on Tuesday while hiking at a popular Riverside trail.Riverside Police responded to reports of an alleged sexual assault at the Mount Rubidoux trail around 4:46 a.m.The victim said she was entering the trail near San Andreas and Glenwood Avenues when a male suspect approached her and assaulted her.The suspect is described as a Hispanic man in his early to mid-20s, according to police. He has a slender build and was last seen wearing dark clothing.Detectives from the sexual assault unit along with specialists from the forensics unit responded to the scene to investigate.The suspect remains at large. Anyone with information on the incident is asked to contact Detective Daniel Suarez at 951-353-7120 or email [email protected]. Anonymous tips can be emailed to [email protected] or submitted through the Riverside Police Department’s “Atlas 1” mobile app. Violent hit-and-run crash leaves father hospitaliz...

Oakland A’s stretch win streak to seven in front of boisterous — and season-high — ‘reverse boycott’ crowd at Coliseum

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:40 GMT

Playing in front of their biggest — and easily most energized — home crowd of the season, the Oakland A’s remained the hottest team in baseball with a 2-1 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday night.The A’s won their seventh straight in front of an announced crowd of 27,759 — mostly fans mobilized by a “reverse boycott” event intended to protest owner John Fisher’s handling of the team and efforts to relocate to Las Vegas. Earlier in the day, the potential move to the desert came closer to reality when the Nevada state Senate voted 13-8 to approve up to $380 million in public money for a stadium on the Vegas strip, setting up a vote in the Assembly as soon as Wednesday that could virtually seal the deal.Much of the crowd was alternating chants of “Let’s Go Oakland!” and “Sell the Team!” from Shintaro Fujinami’s first pitch of the game until reliever Trevor May ended the game by striking out Jose Siri. But the f...