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DENVER (AP) — Economic damage from a Colorado mine waste spill caused by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency may be far less than originally feared after attorneys drastically reduced some of the larger claims, The Associated Press has learned.

Farmers, business owners, residents and others initially said they suffered a staggering $1.2 billion in lost income, property damage and personal injuries from the 2015 spill at the Gold King Mine, which tainted rivers in Colorado, New Mexico and Utah.   Continue reading “Losses from mine spill may be less than feared”

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QUITO, Ecuador (AP) — Leftist candidate Lenin Moreno appeared to have won Ecuador’s presidential election but his opposition rival refused to recognize the results, calling on his supporters to take to the streets to guard against “fraud.”

Sunday’s second-round runoff in the Andean nation of 16 million was being watched closely as a barometer of whether the left, which had dominated South American politics for the past 15 years, could stop a string of right-wing victories across the region.   Continue reading “Leftist claims win in Ecuador election; rival cries foul”

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CHICAGO (AP) — An arrest warrant has been issued for a second teenage boy in the sexual assault of a 15-year-old Chicago girl that was streamed live on Facebook, and further arrests are expected, police said Sunday.

A day after announcing the arrest of a 14-year-old boy on sexual assault and child pornography charges, police said they were looking for a 15-year-old suspect in the March 19 attack, which investigators have said involved five or six males. Investigators didn’t specify how many others would likely be charged, but they did say one adult male was among them.  Continue reading “Chicago police seek 2nd teen in Facebook sexual assault case”

RT

The smallest country in Central America – El Salvador – has approved a law prohibiting all metal mining in an attempt to protect the environment and natural resources. It is the first country in the world to do so.

The new law, supported by 70 lawmakers, bans all exploration, extraction, and processing of metals both in open pits and mines.   Continue reading “El Salvador says no to gold to become 1st country to ban metal mining”

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LOS ANGELES (AP) — A Pakistani-born doctor announced Wednesday that he is joining the 2018 race for lieutenant governor on a platform of saving the Affordable Care Act, providing free community college education and fighting what he termed “Donald Trump’s hate.”

“I am a proud Muslim and I love America,” Dr. Asif Mahmood said at a news conference in front of the downtown federal building that houses a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office. “President Trump continues to attack people like me: immigrants, people of color and Muslims,” Mahmood said. “I say President Trump has it all wrong. It’s time to get tough on hate. California must be the leader of the Trump resistance, and I will fight him every step of the way.”   Continue reading “Muslim immigrant to join California lieutenant governor race”

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WASHINGTON (AP) — Pedestrian deaths are climbing faster than motorist fatalities, reaching nearly 6,000 deaths last year — the highest total in more than two decades, according to an analysis of preliminary state data released Thursday.

Increased driving due to an improved economy, lower gas prices and more walking for exercise and environmental factors are some of the likely reasons behind the estimated 11 percent spike in pedestrian fatalities in 2016. The figures were prepared for the Governors Highway Safety Association, which represents state highway safety offices.   Continue reading “Distraction cited as pedestrian deaths spiked in 2016”

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RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina’s top Republican legislators and the Democratic governor say they have a deal to end the state’s LGBT “bathroom law,” which has brought negative national attention and made it harder to attract businesses and sporting events.

But they’ll have to get enough votes in the House and Senate on Thursday to undo the law that is also known as House Bill 2. That could be a challenge because social conservatives would prefer to have HB2 stay on the books. Gay rights groups oppose the replacement measure because they say it would allow discrimination.   Continue reading “Deal to end ‘bathroom law’ under fire from LGBT people”

RT

The biggest ever gold deposit of an estimated 380 tons has been discovered in China, announced Shandong Gold Group during a news conference in Beijing on Tuesday.

According to local media reports, the Xiling gold seam in eastern China is more than 2,000 meters long and 67 meters wide. At full capacity, the mine could produce gold for 40 years.   Continue reading “China claims discovery of its largest gold mine with $22 billion potential”

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ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — Adil Hasan and his wife, Enas Ibrahim, came to the U.S. in 2008 as refugees from Iraq, and have been living peacefully in the suburbs of Washington, D.C., ever since. To get here, though, they faced a dilemma as they sat in a camp in Jordan, where they were required to fill out their family trees to apply for refugee status: Should they include Hasan’s brother, Majid Al Mashhandani, who participated in the 2004 kidnapping of American contractor Roy Hallums?

In a phone interview Tuesday, Ibrahim said they decided to keep that relationship a secret. “We just wanted to leave our country,” she said. “When we started the process we were just scared to add his name.”   Continue reading “Family ties: 3 Iraqis in US allegedly hid link to kidnapper”

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SEATTLE (AP) — A Mexican man who has spent more than six weeks in immigration detention despite his participation in a program designed to protect those brought to the U.S. illegally as children can be released from custody pending his deportation proceedings, an immigration judge ruled.

Lawyers for Daniel Ramirez Medina, 24, told The Associated Press they expect him to be released as soon as Wednesday following the decision by Judge John Odell in Tacoma. Ramirez spent 40 minutes answering questions from prosecutors during a two-hour hearing Tuesday, and he repeatedly and credibly denied having any connections with gangs, attorney Mark Rosenbaum said.   Continue reading “Judge approves release of jailed Seattle-area ‘dreamer’”

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GARASBALEY, Somalia (AP) — Tears fill Sahra Muse’s eyes as she stares at her severely malnourished son, his thin arms crossed over his bloated stomach. Before he succumbed to hunger, 7-year-old Ibrahim Ali had helped his mother herd the family’s 30 cows on their farm in Toratorow, a village in Lower Shabelle region. But the family lost all they had to the growing drought.

The 32-year-old Muse walked for three days to reach this wind-swept camp 13 kilometers (8 miles) south of Somalia’s capital earlier this week, leaving behind her other three children and their father.   Continue reading “Somalia’s drought once again has thousands on the move”

RT

Soil from the Fukushima prefecture may be used as landfill for the creation of “green areas” in Japan, a government panel has proposed, facing potential public backlash over fears of exposure to residual radiation from the decontaminated earth.

The advisory panel of the Environment Ministry on Monday proposed reusing soil that was contaminated during the Fukushima nuclear meltdown of 2011 as part of future landfills designated for public use, Kyodo news reported.    Continue reading “Japan ponders recycling Fukushima soil for public parks & green areas”

RT

Russia can use Iranian military bases for airstrikes targeting terrorists in Syria on a “case by case basis,” Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif told Reuters.

“Russia doesn’t have a military base [in Iran], we have good cooperation, and on a case by case basis, when it is necessary for Russians fighting terrorism to use Iranian facilities, we will make a decision,” Zarif said.    Continue reading “Russia can use Iranian military bases ‘on case by case basis,’ Tehran confirms”

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FORT COLLINS, Colo. (AP) — Police arrested a suspect in connection with the vandalism at a mosque near Colorado State University, a case they are investigating as a hate crime. Joseph Scott Giaquinto, 35, was arrested on suspicion of several charges, including a crime motivated by bias, The Coloradoan reports (http://noconow.co/2mKWQEG ).

Police had asked for the public’s help in identifying the person who overturned benches, broke windows and threw a Bible into Islamic Center of Fort Collins, which is about 60 miles north of Denver. A police spokeswoman told the newspaper that she did not have details on how police came to identify Giaquinto as the suspect.   Continue reading “Man arrested in connection with vandalism at Colorado mosque”

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The Dakota Access pipeline developer said Monday that it has placed oil in the pipeline under a Missouri River reservoir in North Dakota and that it’s preparing to put the pipeline into service. Dallas-based Energy Transfer Partners made the announcement in a brief court filing with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The announcement marks a significant development in the long battle over the project that will move North Dakota oil 2000 miles (1930 kilometers) through South Dakota and Iowa to a shipping point in Illinois. The pipeline is three months behind schedule due to large protests and the objections of two American Indian tribes who say it threatens their water supply and cultural sites.   Continue reading “Company: Oil in pipeline under Missouri River reservoir”

RT

An 18-year-old Maryland high school student is facing charges related to an alleged plot to attack her school in April using a shotgun and explosive materials. She kept a detailed journal of her plans and the school’s emergency procedures.

Nicole Cevario, 18, gathered bomb-making materials, ammunition and a shotgun, according to the Frederick County Sheriff’s Office, but never brought them to her school, Catoctin High School in Thurmont, Maryland.   Continue reading “Maryland honor student plotted to bomb and shoot up high school – police”

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SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korean prosecutors said Monday that they want to arrest former President Park Geun-hye over the corruption allegations that triggered a huge political scandal and toppled her from power.

The move comes after prosecutors grilled Park for 14 hours last week over suspicions that she colluded with a jailed confidante to extort from companies and committed other wrongdoing when she was in office.   Continue reading “South Korean prosecutors push to arrest ousted president”

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OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — A 22-year-old officer and new recruit died Monday morning after a shootout with a man who fled a traffic stop in central Oklahoma, police said. Officer Justin Terney was shot several times late Sunday and died after undergoing surgery overnight, Tecumseh Assistant Police Chief J.R. Kidney said.

Terney had only graduated from the police academy last summer, Kidney said. “He was a very young officer, just getting a start,” he said. “He was taken way too soon.” The man who fired on Terney was also shot multiple times and in intensive care Monday morning, Kidney said. Police have not released his identity.   Continue reading “Oklahoma police officer dies after traffic-stop shooting”

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SEATTLE (AP) — Sixteen months after he declared a state of emergency on homelessness, Seattle’s mayor is asking voters in this liberal, affluent city for $55 million a year in new taxes to fight the problem.

Some are pushing back, saying the city already spends millions to combat homelessness, and things appear to have gotten worse, not better. In making his case, Mayor Ed Murray says the problem has grown exponentially and federal and state help is unlikely. He wants voters to support a proposed ballot initiative that would increase property taxes to raise $275 million over five years for homeless services — almost doubling what Seattle spends each year.   Continue reading “Some balk as Seattle seeks to spend more money on homeless”

RT

In a landmark federal case, a man has been charged in the US with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon for sending a malicious tweet which triggered an epileptic fit.

John Rayne Rivello, 29, was arrested by the FBI on March 17, following a three-month investigation into a tweet sent to journalist Kurt Eichenwald on December 15, 2016.  Continue reading “GIF as a deadly weapon: Man charged over seizure-inducing tweet to journalist”