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EPA cites 2 oil and gas firms over Permian Basin pollution

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:52 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Two Texas companies have resolved Clean Air Act violations with the Environmental Protection Agency by agreeing to reduce emissions of planet-warming methane and other harmful pollutants wafting from the nation’s largest oil and gas producing region.EPA announced Monday that Matador Production Company has agreed to pay $6.2 million in fines and mitigation measures related to 239 oil and gas well pads in New Mexico. Permian Resources Operating agreed earlier this month to pay $610,000 and make improvements to its equipment to settle environmental violations.The enforcement actions came after EPA flew a helicopter equipped with a special infrared camera that can detect emissions of hydrocarbon vapors that are invisible to the naked eye.EPA announced a new round of overflights in August, four days after publication of an investigation by The Associated Press that showed 533 oil and gas facilities in the region are emitting excessive amounts of methane and named ...

81-year-old accused of violently murdering his wife, daughter

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:52 GMT

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (KDVR) -- An 81-year-old Englewood man is accused of violently killing his wife and daughter.Police say Reginald Maclaren called to report the murders just after 6 p.m. on Saturday, March 25. During the call, he allegedly said he knew the person who killed them and that a hammer had been used in the murders.After responding to the apartment Maclaren was taken to the hospital where police later interviewed him. During that interview, police said he admitted to killing the two women. Cashier arrested in $500,000 Monarch Casino theft When officers arrived at his apartment at 901 Englewood Parkway, they said they found the two victims in the apartment, with one of them having been dismembered.Investigators said an axe and a saw were used during the murders.Police said during an interview with Maclaren he told them he had recently lost his job and would no longer be able to afford rent. In order to avoid being homeless, he allegedly told officers he killed the women so...

Colorado catalytic converter thefts spiked nearly 8,000% since 2019

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:52 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- It isn't just auto thefts that are at all-time highs in Colorado, but thefts of car parts themselves. Catalytic converter theft has been spiking through the course of the last three years according to both local law enforcement and national researchers in the insurance and automotive industries. Thieves in the southwest target high-riding automobiles with easy undercarriage access or hybrid vehicles with more precious metal-packed converters. These cars have the most catalytic converters stolen in Boulder In Colorado, catalytic converter theft rates exploded nearly 8,000% in the last three years, according to new analysis of National Insurance Crime Bureau and Google search trends by public data portal BeenVerified. It now has one of the nation's highest rates of these thefts. Thefts mushroomed virtually overnight in the Centennial State. There were 25 catalytic converter thefts in Colorado in 2019. That grew to 2,185 thefts in 2021, a 7,948% increase. Colorado h...

Alarming trend shows more young people being diagnosed with colorectal cancer

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:52 GMT

AURORA, Colo. (KDVR) -- Karissa Rund was just 31 years old when she was diagnosed with stage 4 colorectal cancer. "I was really young, which is part of this increasing trend, unfortunately," Rund said.The Littleton resident sought help when she had horrible stomach pain. "It felt like someone was trying to stab me in half," she said. Scans revealed a tumor blocking her colon. Now seven years later, she's had nine surgeries and years of chemotherapy. She is stable and is starting a clinical trial at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus."For the last 7 and a half years we've been trying to keep me alive," she said. Colorado women are some of most likely to be married, least likely to have kids While the majority of colorectal cancer cases are still in people over the age of 65, experts say more and more young people are now being diagnosed."Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death. It's highly preventable," said Andrew Dwyer, the Col...

Report: Student was landing when 2 small planes collided

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:52 GMT

WINTER HAVEN, Fla. (AP) — A student pilot was trying to land a small plane at a central Florida airport when it collided with another small plane, sending both aircraft crashing into a lake and killing four people, a preliminary report released Tuesday said.A Piper J-3 Cub seaplane and a Piper PA-28 Cherokee fixed-wing plane were both conducting instructional flights when they collided March 7 over Lake Hartridge near Winter Haven Regional Airport, a National Transportation Safety Board report said. Winter Haven is about 40 miles (65 kilometers) southwest of Orlando.According to recorded radio transmissions, the student pilot in the PA-28 was performing landing maneuvers to a runway at the nearby airport. Four seconds after the PA-28 pilot’s final transmission, the plane collided nearly straight on with the J-3 at about 575 feet (175 meters) above sea level, officials said.The J-3 had been returning to its base for a water landing on a nearby lake after a local flight, the rep...

Miami Seaquarium Orca Lolita could be released to sanctuary

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:52 GMT

After more than 50 years, it looks like Lolita the orca whale will be heading back home to the Pacific Northwest.The arguably dangerous move from Virginia Key to a sanctuary off the Washington State Coast came after the killer whale showed a decline in her health last year, which led her to stop performing. A scathing federal report alleged Lolita was in inhumane conditions at the Miami Seaquarium.“Regardless of how many decades she’s been in that tank, for millions of years, her species has evolved to have these needs, and those needs being met is critical for her to thrive,” said General Counsel for PETA Jared Goodman. Now that her health is reportedly stable, a homecoming is possible for Lolita, also known as Toki. The killer whale was captured in the 1970s and has lived in a small enclosure at the seaquarium ever since. She is the second oldest orca to be held in captivity. “The takeover of the facility by the Dolphin Company, which has been willing to wo...

Catalan separatist MEP Clara Ponsatí released after arrest in Spain

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:52 GMT

Clara Ponsatí, a Catalan separatist and MEP, was released after being detained for several hours Tuesday in Barcelona, following years of evading an arrest warrant from the Spanish Supreme Court over a failed independence push.Ponsatí, 66, was the education minister in the Catalan government when the region declared independence from Spain following a 2017 referendum for secession, which Spanish judges deemed to be illegal. She has been living in exile in Scotland and Belgium ever since, after Spain’s top court issued an arrest warrant accusing her of the crime of disobedience for her role in organizing the referendum. She was arrested by Catalonia’s autonomous police force, the Mossos d’Esquadra, while wearing her European Parliament badge, after traveling to Spain for the first time since fleeing the country. The MEP tweeted that she was “illegally” arrested in Barcelona. The supreme court had withdrawn the charge of “sedition” that carrie...

One dead, three hurt in crash in East Kingston, NH

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:52 GMT

One person was killed and three others were hurt in a crash in East Kingston, N.H. Tuesday, according to the New Hampshire State Police. Police said the crash happened around 1:40 p.m. when a car with four people inside crashed on Burnt Swamp Road. Police said the car’s driver, described as an adult male, was pronounced dead at the scene. An adult female passenger was airlifted to a hospital in Boston. Police said a 9-month-old child and a 3-year-old were seriously injured. SKY7 over the crash site showed debris scattered around a grassy area near the crash site on Tuesday afternoon. Crews were still on scene around 5:30 p.m. after finding the transmission from the car involved in this crash roughly 100 feet from the spot where the car appeared to have crashed into a tree.Police said a preliminary investigation indicated that excessive speed was likely a factor in this crash. Other aspects of the crash remained under investigation as of Tuesday afternoon.Thi...

Father of Harmony Montgomery facing new charges

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:52 GMT

A New Hampshire man accused of killing his daughter in 2019 has had new charges brought against him.Adam Montgomery, 32, was recently indicted on two firearm charges, after prosecutors said he was in possession of a pistol and a rifle between 2009 and 2014 while having several felony convictions on his record. Montgomery was arrested and charged with charges including murder in October of last year in connection with the death of his five-year-old daughter, Harmony. Harmony disappeared in 2019 but wasn’t reported missing until 2021. Over the course of their investigation, detectives returned to places Harmony had lived, digging up yards and removing furniture, including a refrigerator at one residence. Despite not finding a body, police announced over the summer in 2022 that they believed the girl had been murdered.Investigators last fall said that Adam Montgomery allegedly destroyed his daughter’s body between December 2019 and March 2020.

AP sources: Two groups formally submit bids for Commanders

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:52 GMT

By ROB MAADDI and STEPHEN WHYNO (AP Sports Writers)PHOENIX (AP) — Dan Synder’s departure from the NFL is moving closer to reality.A group led by Josh Harris and Mitchell Rales and another group led by Canadian billionaire Steve Apostolopoulos have formally submitted fully financed bids for the NFL’s Washington Commanders, according to a person with knowledge of the situation.Two people confirmed the bid from Harris. Both spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Tuesday because details of the bid have not been publicly announced.The Harris/Rales group includes basketball Hall of Famer Magic Johnson. Houston Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta also has been in the running.ESPN reported both bids came in at Snyder’s $6 billion asking price. Snyder had yet to accept an offer when the league’s finance committee met Monday so his future wasn’t openly discussed.“The information is very little to none in terms of the 31 of us (owners), and ...