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Ethics panel says it found ‘overwhelming evidence’ of lawbreaking by Republican Rep. George Santos

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:07:12 GMT

By KEVIN FREKING (Associated Press)WASHINGTON (AP) — The House Ethics committee in a scathing report Thursday said it has amassed “overwhelming evidence” of lawbreaking by Rep. George Santos of New York that has been sent to the Justice Department, concluding flatly that the Republican “cannot be trusted” after a monthslong investigation into his conduct.The panel said that Santos knowingly caused his campaign committee to file false or incomplete reports with the Federal Election Commission; used campaign funds for personal purposes; and engaged in violations of the Ethics in Government Act as it relates to financial disclosure statements filed with the House.Santos has maintained his innocence and has refused to resign despite calls from many of his colleagues to do so.The ethics panel’s report also detailed Santos’ lack of cooperation with its investigation and how he “evaded” straightforward requests for information.The infor...

Homeowner shoots suspected burglar in North County

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:07:12 GMT

VISTA, Calif. -- A homeowner in North County shot a burglar shortly before 5 a.m. Thursday morning, authorities confirmed to FOX 5.The San Diego County Sheriff's Department said the homicide unit was called to the scene at a residence located on 1700 Block of York Drive in Vista. Pilot killed in small plane crash near Torrey Pines Details surrounding the incident are limited at this time.This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

San Diego Starbucks workers to join nationwide strike on 'Red Cup Day'

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:07:12 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- Starbucks’ annual "Red Cup Day" may be accompanied with long wait times Thursday, instead of holiday cheer.Thousands of workers, including some in San Diego, are planning to strike while demanding the coffee giant comes to the bargaining table in regards to staffing and scheduling concerns. The Workers United union proclaimed the day as the "Red Cup Rebellion," choosing the date because it's one of Starbucks' busiest days of the year. Annually, those who order a holiday drink of this day receive a reusable cup. Homeowner shoots suspected burglar in North County As part of the strike, workers are demanding that Starbucks turn off mobile ordering on future promotion days. Workers have said promotion days "add another layer of stress" due to claims of understaffing. “Business at this location (Hillcrest) has continued to grow, yet we still have partners losing hours and have to deal with understaffed shifts," said Saïx Campbell, a shift supervisor at the Starbucks locate...

Online resources can help bridge gap for young investors seeking financial advice

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:07:12 GMT

TORONTO — While some financial advisers might be unwilling to take on younger clients with small accounts, experts say that shouldn’t deter young investors from beginning their financial journey and that online resources can be a good place to start learning.Karlee Vukets, a certified financial planner who works with clients aged 25 to 40, says many financial advisers have minimum account requirements which many younger investors don’t meet.“Typically, you may not be able to find an investment adviser who manages a portfolio of a small size,” said Vukets, who runs Toronto-based financial planning firm Karlee Vukets & Co. Many firms have a minimum threshold of at least $250,000 in assets, she said.That has some young investors turning to online resources such as AI chatbots, social media influencers and investment apps such as Wealthsimple to help manage their modest portfolios.These online resources are helping make financial education more accessible and...

Demand for seafood is soaring, but oceans are giving up all they can. Can we farm fish in new ways?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:07:12 GMT

If it still seems strange to think of fish growing on farms, it shouldn’t.Aquaculture has been the fastest growing food sector in the world for decades, and people now eat more farmed fish than wild fish. The industry has had to grow. Demand for seafood is soaring and will continue to rise. But the oceans are giving up all they can: Production of wild fish has been flat since about 1990. Fish farming and shellfish production usually spew far less greenhouse gas emissions than production of beef and other animal protein, but aquaculture can still cause serious environmental problems. ___EDITORS’ NOTE — This story is part of The Protein Problem, an AP series that examines the question: Can we feed this growing world without starving the planet? To see the full project, visit https://projects.apnews.com/features/2023/the-protein-problem/index.html___And as it has grown, the problems with large-scale farming have grown with it. Many are like problems that face massive chicken, pig and c...

Meat made from cells, not livestock, is here. But will it ever replace traditional meat?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:07:12 GMT

A familiar aroma wafted through the Believer Meats test kitchen earlier this year as Research and Development Chef Andres Voloschin flipped sizzling strips of chicken conjured from cells.Scientists, not farmers, produced this chicken. More than 150 startups are chasing an ambitious goal: meat that doesn’t require raising and killing animals that is affordable and tastes and feels like the meat we eat now. They are part of a young industry aiming to use cell biology to reduce the environmental impact of the world’s ever-increasing demand for meat and change global protein production the way electric cars are shaking up the auto industry.“We are addicted to meat as a species. It’s part of our evolution. It’s part of our culture,” said Believer founder Yaakov Nahmias, whose country, Israel, is an industry hub along with California and Singapore. But “we thought about quantity rather than the environment, rather than sustainability.”___EDITORS’ NOTE — This story is part of The Protein P...

Decline in local news outlets is accelerating despite efforts to help

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:07:12 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — The decline of local news in the United States is speeding up despite attention paid to the issue, to the point where the nation has lost one-third of its newspapers and two-thirds of its newspaper journalists since 2005.An average of 2.5 newspapers closed each week in 2023 compared to two a week the previous year, a reflection of an ever-worsening advertising climate, according to a Northwestern University study issued Thursday. Most are weekly publications, in areas with few or no other sources for news.“My concern is that the acceleration that we’re seeing is only going to worsen,” said Tim Franklin, who heads the local news initiative at Northwestern’s Medill journalism school.At its current pace, the country will hit 3,000 newspapers closed in two decades sometime next year, with just under 6,000 remaining, the report said. At the same time, 43,000 newspaper journalists lost jobs, most of them at daily publications, with the advertising market collap...

ASEAN defense chiefs call for immediate truce, aid corridor in Israel-Hamas war

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:07:12 GMT

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Southeast Asian defense ministers expressed “profound concern” on Thursday over the loss of civilian lives in the Israel-Hamas war and called for an immediate truce and creation of a humanitarian corridor to deliver aid. In a statement on the conflict, the defense ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations also supported the start of peace negotiations aimed at achieving a “two-state solution based on the pre-1967 borders.”The ministers “expressed profound dismay at the reported attacks and loss of innocent civilian lives in the conflict, along with the destruction of civilian infrastructure,” it said.They issued the statement after meeting in Jakarta, Indonesia, with eight “dialogue partners,” including the United States, China and Russia.A separate chairman’s statement issued by Indonesian Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto called for an immediate, durable and sustained humanitarian truce leading to a cessation of hostilities and urged...

Ken Squier, a longtime NASCAR announcer and broadcaster, dies at 88

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:07:12 GMT

WATERBURY, Vt. (AP) — Ken Squier, a longtime NASCAR announcer and broadcaster, has died. He was 88.Squier died Wednesday night in Waterbury, Vermont, according to the management of the local WDEV radio, which he owned.“Though he never sat behind the wheel of a stock car, Ken Squier contributed to the growth of NASCAR as much as any competitor,” Jim France, chairman and CEO of NASCAR, said in a statement. “Ken was a superb storyteller and his unmistakable voice is the soundtrack to many of NASCAR’s greatest moments.”Squier opened Thunder Road speedway in his home state of Vermont in Barre in 1960. Vermont Gov. Phil Scott, a stock car racer, called Squier “a true Vermont legend and dear friend to me and so many others.”Much will be made of “the NASCAR Hall of Famer’s extraordinary contributions to racing — from his time in the booth at CBS, where he coined the phrase ‘The Great American Race’, to his founding of the ‘Nation’s Site of Excitement’ at Thunder Road,” the gover...

Poverty is killing the Amazon rainforest. Treating soil and farmers better can help save what’s left

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:07:12 GMT

TEKOHAW, Brazil (AP) — At dawn in this small Amazonian village in Brazil’s Para state, flocks of noisy green parrots soar overhead as children run and play between wooden homes, kicking up sandy soil — in places white and bare as a beach.The ground reveals one of the paradoxes of the rainforest. Renowned for its beauty and biodiversity, the life-giving nutrients of the forest are mostly stored in the trees and other plants, not the soil.When the forest is cleared — for a cattle ranch, soybean field or even a small cluster of village homes — the combination of scorching Amazonian sun and intense rainfall combine to leach scarce nutrients from the soil in just a few years, leaving behind surprisingly barren ground. This impoverished dirt makes it difficult to sustain agriculture in one place.And in a region with some of the highest poverty levels in Brazil, people with few options have often just abandoned degraded fields and cleared more forest — hastening the cycle of deforest...