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Illegal logging thrives in Mexico City’s forest-covered boroughs, as locals strive to plant trees

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:31 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — It’s a strange scene: in the forest-covered mountains of Mexico City — which most people outside Mexico don’t know exist — a brigade of farmers and forest rangers plant inches-high pine saplings in a recently cut stand of trees, even as the sound of chainsaws can be heard nearby.Illegal logging has taken a huge toll in recent years on the forest-covered southern half of the city of 9 million inhabitants.“They have finished off the forest,” Alfredo Gutiérrez, 43, said with sadness. The extent of the devastation is astonishing. Just a year ago, “it was always dark, even if the sun was shining, because of all the trees that were here,” Gutiérrez said of the grove near his town of San Miguel Topilejo — on the edge of the encroaching urban sprawl.While most people associate Mexico City with traffic jams and polluted air, actually about one-half of the city’s territory is rural, almost all of it in the southern boroughs of Milpa Alta and Tlalpan. About 20% are protected...

Denmark to ban burning of holy texts, Sweden to follow?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:31 GMT

Danish Justice Minister Peter Hummelgaard (pictured) told reporters:"The proposal will thus make it punishable to, for example, in public burn a Quran, bible or Torah. I fundamentally believe there are more civilized ways to express one's views than burning things.'' Rabbi Menachem Margolin, Chairman of the European Jewish Association, applauded Denmark’s move and urged "all European Countries, especially Sweden, to follow Denmark’s example and ban such flagrant abuses of constitutional rights and privileges by those who want to provoke, insult and divide”, writes Yossi Lempkowicz.The government has rejected objections put forward by Danish opposition parties saying such a prohibition would infringe on free speech. The Danish  government plans to criminalize the public burning of holy texts, including the Quran, the Bible or the Torah, the country’s Justice Minister said on Friday.A bill that is to be presented would “prohibit the inappropriate treatment of objects of significant re...

Simone Biles wins record 8th U.S. Gymnastics title a full decade after her 1st

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:31 GMT

Simone Biles is not going to explain herself. Part of this is by design. Part of this is because she simply can't.When the gymnastics star is at her best, as she was on Sunday night while winning her record eighth U.S. championship, she feels like she's in a “fever dream.” It's not autopilot exactly. It's more of a vibe. A flow. It's in those moments that the doubts that still plague her almost daily even now, a decade into a run of unprecedented excellence, fade away. El Segundo wins Little League World Series with dramatic walk-off HR There is no thinking. No overanalyzing. No “ twisties.” All of it recedes into the background. Her coach Laurent Landi calls it a skill. Biles, even at 26, won't go that far. Maybe because she simply doesn't want to.She spent a long time, far too long, getting caught up in her head. She's intent on not doing it this around. So yeah, she was smiling midway through a floor routine that made almost every other competitor on the floor stop what they we...

Top US and Chinese commerce officials express support for easier trade, but deep differences remain

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:31 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and her Chinese counterpart expressed a desire to improve trade conditions on Monday, as Raimondo began a visit to Beijing aimed at warming chilly relations, but neither side appeared willing to make concessions on the other’s main demands.Raimondo joined American officials including Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen in July who have visited China in the past three months. They expressed optimism about improving communication but have announced no progress on technology, security, human rights and other disputes that have plunged relations to their lowest level in decades.For its part, Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s government wants to revive foreign investor interest in China as it tries to reverse a deepening economic slump.Beijing is ready to work together to “foster a more favorable policy environment for stronger cooperation” and “bolster bilateral trade and investment,” Commerce Minister Wang Wentao told Raimondo. Wang gave no details...

This Week in Business: Job openings, Chewy earnings, August jobs report

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:31 GMT

NOW HIRINGThe Labor Department on Tuesday issues its July job opening and labor turnover survey.Analysts expect July job openings to hold firm in July around 9.6 million for the third month in a row. Overall, last month’s report signaled a healthy economy, with employers seeking to hire more people. The number of workers quitting is slightly above pre-pandemic levels, suggesting that many Americans continue to find more desirable jobs. Job openings, in millions, by month:Feb.: 10March: 9.7April: 10.3May: 9.6June: 9.6July (est.): 9.6Source: FactSetCHEWY EARNINGSPet food delivery company Chewy reports its second-quarter financial results on Wednesday.For the sixth quarter in a row, Wall Street is projecting that Florida-based Chewy will report a loss, this time of 5 cents per share. In each of the previous five quarters, Chewy has surprised investors and analysts by posting adjusted profits. For last year’s second quarter, Wall Street expected Chewy to post a loss of 12 ce...

'It was horrifying': San Diego woman describes harrowing escape from Lahaina

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:31 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- Jeanne Stabile was woken up from a nap by strong winds the day the fire came roaring through Lahaina. “It was horrifying, terrifying, but I just had to go into survivor mode, it’s very vivid still," Stabile said. "In the kitchen, out of the kitchen window, I heard crackling noise opened the door and the apartment right across from me was fully engulfed in flames.” She quickly grabbed slippers and ran out of her apartment on Front Street."Put a chair by the fence, jumped over the fence and just started running towards the ocean down the middle of the street and the whole complex was up in flames," she said.The 72-year-old lost all of her belongings including her sons and daughters ashes.A police officer helped her get to an evacuation center, but the nightmare wasn’t over. It had to be evacuated as the fire approached. These San Diego-area hotels were ranked among top waterfront resorts in U.S. Evacuees were then moved to a hotel on a hill. Stabile watched Maui, her ho...

Stock market today: Asian shares mostly rise after Fed chief’s speech

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:31 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares were mostly higher Monday, as investors were relieved by the head of the Federal Reserve indicating it will “proceed carefully” on interest rates. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 added 1.8% in afternoon trading to 32,195.91. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.6% to 7,159.80, after data on Australian retail sales showed they rose a higher than expected 0.5%.South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.8% to 2,538.67. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng jumped 1.3% to 18,182.87, while the Shanghai Composite surged 1.3% to 3,104.27. “The muted reaction of treasury yields to the rhetoric from Jackson Hole shows that US Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell probably hit the right tone when it comes to keeping further policy tightening on the table but at the same time not rattling market confidence,” said Tim Waterer, chief market analyst at KCM Trade. Wall Street recorded its first winning week since July, with the S&P 500 climbing 29.40, or 0.7%, to 4,405.71. The ...

Foxconn’s Terry Gou will seek Taiwan presidency as an independent, but he’ll need signatures to run

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:31 GMT

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Terry Gou, who founded Apple supplier Foxconn, said Monday he will run as an independent candidate in Taiwan’s presidential election, ending months of speculation.At a news conference, Gou criticized the governing Democratic Progressive Party, saying its policies have “brought Taiwan into the risk of war” with China, which claims the self-ruled island democracy as part of its territory.“I will definitely not allow Taiwan to become the next Ukraine,” he added.He said Taiwan also needs new approaches on the economy and other matters at home. “Domestically, the national policy direction is filled with all sorts of mistakes. There’s no way to solve the difficulties of Taiwanese industry and people’s livelihoods,” he said.Gou’s Foxconn, formally known as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., is a major supplier to Apple and has many factories in China that manufacture iPhones. Ideologically, Gou is most in line with the Kuomingtang, the opposition party that i...

An evacuation order finds few followers in northeast Ukraine despite Russia’s push to retake region

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:31 GMT

KUPIANSK, Ukraine (AP) — The thunder of mortar fire echoes in the distance as 5-year old David approaches his mother with an innocent request: Can he play with the baseball bat a relative gave him as a gift?Valeria Pototska rolls her eyes and tells her son no for the umpteenth time. It’s a toy for big kids, she scolds. The boy, who doesn’t so much as flinch when the weapons not far from their town in northeast Ukraine shoot off more rounds, pouts and peddles away on his bicycle.Other neighborhood children frolic in a playground in Kupiansk-Vuzlovyi, seemingly immune to the war unfolding 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) away. Ukrainian authorities this month ordered a mandatory evacuation of the village and three dozen other populated areas as war returned to Kharkiv province. So far, most residents have refused to go as the battle inches closer to their backyards. “It’s normal,” Pototska said of the soundtrack of weapons that punctuates the monotony of their daily lives. Olena Kanive...

Pleasant Chicago temps ahead, then possibly hot by the weekend; Hurricane Idalia takes aim at Florida; wildfires rage in Greece

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:31 GMT

A beautiful way to finish up the last weekend of August. Mostly sunny skies Sunday and Monday thanks to high pressure to our north bringing in the easterly winds. We might end up with a bit of Canadian wildfire smoke in our skies late Monday and into Tuesday with a weather system coming in from the northwest. Tuesday also has a slight chance of showers, but only about 20% of the area will likely see any raindrops. We look to return to sunshine and some summery temps by the end of the week. If you like some warmth, it's not a bad way to start out September and the Labor Day holiday weekend! Enjoy! WGN Weekly Climate report: In a month that's been pretty average temperature-wise, the past week had our hottest temperatures of 2023 in and around Chicago.August 24th had the first 100 degree reading at both Midway and O'Hare. It was the first triple digit temperature at O'Hare since July of 2012. The 100 degree reading at ORD tied the 1947 record for an August 24th high temp. It was ...