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

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:11:15 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...

Pastoralists have raised livestock in harsh climates for millennia. What can they teach us today?

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:11:15 GMT

SUKHBAATAR, Mongolia (AP) — The moon glowed in the predawn Mongolia sky as Agvaantogtokh and his family prepared for another big move. On horseback, he rode to a well with nearly a thousand sheep and goats. Occasionally, he and his wife, Nurmaa, stopped to help struggling young ones, weak after a harsh winter.Thousands of miles away in Senegal, Amadou Altine Ndiaye’s family led livestock through a sparse African savannah. Horses and donkeys pulled a four-cart caravan along dirt paths in sweltering heat. Cattle followed. The family believed the next village would be richer with vegetation. “I was born into pastoralism, and since then I’ve known only that,” said Ndiaye, 48, a member of the Muslim Fulani ethnic group who learned the ways of herding alongside his elders. “It’s a source of pride.”More than 50 million people in Asia, Africa, the Middle East and elsewhere practice this way of life. As nomadic pastoralists, they keep domestic animals and move with them to seek fresh pasture...

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

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:11:15 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House Ethics panel said Thursday it has found “substantial evidence” of lawbreaking by Republican Rep. George Santos of New York and has referred its findings to the Justice Department.The committee said that Santos’ conduct warrants public condemnation, is beneath the dignity of the office, and has brought severe discredit upon the House.Santos has maintained his innocence and refused to resign despite calls from many of his colleagues to do so.The panel said 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.The ethics panel’s report also detailed Santos’ lack of cooperation with its investigation and how he “evaded” straightforward requests for information.The information that he did provide, according to the commit...

Canada’s CPKC Women’s Open once again named LPGA Tour’s tournament of year

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:11:15 GMT

The CPKC Women’s Open has won the LPGA Tour’s highest tournament honour for the second consecutive year.The event, hosted Aug. 24-27 at Vancouver’s Shaughnessy Golf and Country Club, was named the back-to-back winner of tour’s tournament of the Year at the LPGA’s annual year-end tournament awards Wednesday night.“We really have a secret sauce,” tournament director Ryan Paul told The Canadian Press at the CME Group Tour Championship, the final event of the LPGA Tour season. “It’s really an incredible golf tournament. You’ve got the best players in the world a rope-line away from you, but outside the ropes there are so many great things that you can see and do.”The Canadian tournament also won for best sponsor activation and best volunteer appreciation at the ceremony hosted at Tiburon Golf Club.The sponsor nod was a culmination of the tournament’s partner programming like the Brooke Brigade fan zone. Unique for this year — and specially recognized — was a junior clinic at...

EU calls on China to stop building coal plants and contribute to a climate fund for poor nations

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:11:15 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — The European Union’s top climate official said Thursday that China should stop building new coal-fired power plants and contribute to a global fund to help poor countries affected by climate change.Wopke Hoekstra, the EU climate commissioner, raised both issues in what he called intensive and open conversations with his Chinese counterparts ahead of U.N. climate talks opening in Dubai at the end of this month.Europe and the U.S. have been arguing that wealthier emerging economies such as China and Saudi Arabia should also give money to the fund. Hoekstra said that what is true for the European Union and North America should be true for any country in a position of economic and geopolitical strength.“And that means driving down emissions and doing your fair share in covering the bill for those who cannot,” he said.Given the magnitude of the problem, “every single country with the ability to pay and the ability to contribute should contribute,” he said.A statement...

Eating less meat would be good for the Earth. Small nudges can change behavior

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:11:15 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Preston Cabral eats meat nearly every day at home, but his favorite meals at school are served on “Meatless Mondays” and “Vegan Fridays.”“Today I ate chips, tangerines and this thing that looked like chili but without the meat — just beans,” the 12-year-old said after lunch on a Friday at I.S. 318 Eugenio Maria De Hostos.The Monday and Friday lunches have inspired Preston’s family to make more vegetarian meals at home, sparking what experts say is a healthy shift for them — and for the planet.Programs like these are among the few proven to work for one of the thorniest problems of the 21st century: How to get people to eat less meat.___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?___A new poll conducted by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that most U.S. adults said they eat meat at least several times each week. Abo...

52-year-old man shot in Logan Square

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:11:15 GMT

CHICAGO — A man was seriously wounded during a shooting in Logan Square on Wednesday.Officers were dispatched to the 2300 block of North Kimball at around 4:30 p.m. on the report of a person shot.Police discovered a 52-year-old man at the scene suffering from a gunshot wound.The man was transported in serious condition.No one is in custody. Anyone with information can leave an anonymous tip at cpdtip.com.

Round Lake man accused of driving drunk, intentionally crashing into squad car

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:11:15 GMT

ROUND LAKE, Ill. -- A man faces charges after allegedly intentionally crashing into squad car while intoxicated in Round Lake Wednesday afternoon, police said.Norberto Garcia-Acevedo, 27, faces charges of aggravated battery to officer, with deadly weapon and DUI. According to police, a Round Lake police officer was travelling north on Cedar Lake Road when someone driving south on the same road swerved into the northbound lane and crashed into the squad car head on. Garcia-Acevedo, 27The officer was transported to an area hospital with serious injuries and the driver was transported to a local hospital with minor injuries.Preliminary investigation shows that Garcia-Acevedo was intoxicated and intentionally targeted the police officer and his vehicle. Garcia-Acevedo will appear in court Thursday.

The Kelce Brothers have a Christmas song

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:11:15 GMT

We know you can't get enough of Taylor Swift's boyfriend, Travis Kelce — so here you go.Jason and Travis Kelce have recorded a Christmas duet just in time for the holidays! The song, titled "Fairytale of Philadelphia," will be part of the Eagles holiday album, "A Philly's Special Christmas Special."It will be released Thursday whereever music is downloaded.The Kelce Brothers have a podcast together called New Heights that you can watch on YouTube.

Water line break in southeast Pflugerville causes outages for some residents

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:11:15 GMT

PFLUGERVILLE, Texas (KXAN) — A water line break in southeast Pflugerville has caused outages for some residents. According to the city's social media, those affected are in the following areas: Gatlinburg, Cambridge Estates, Bohls Place, Impact Way and surrounding areas. The city said in a post crews are on site and working on repairs but do not have an estimated time of completion. Residents can get updates sent to their phones by subscribing to the Pflugerville Alerts general information group by texting PfGeneral to 38276.This is a developing story. Check back for updates.