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Spanish authorities seek damages from a Swedish mining company over a major toxic spill 25 years ago

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:13:25 GMT

MADRID (AP) — Spanish authorities are seeking 90 million euros ($98 million) in damages from a Swedish mining company for a major toxic spill near the famed Doñana National Park in 1998.The civil trial that opened Tuesday is hearing the case against the Boliden company that ran the Los Frailes Aznalcóllar mine where the walls of a wastewater reservoir burst, pouring an estimated 1.3 billion gallons of acidic liquid into the Guadiamar River in southern Seville province in what was one of Spain’s worst environmental disasters.Makeshift dikes kept the liquid and mud from flowing into the nearby Doñana National Park, but a vast area near the mine was inundated with toxic sludge containing traces of zinc, iron and other heavy metals. Thousands of fish and birds were killed.The southern regional government of Andalusia is taking the case against Boliden.The trial will hear testimony from 12 witnesses and three experts and is expected to conclude July 13, court officials said.A criminal tr...

Tijuana, reliant on the Colorado River, faces a water crisis

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:13:25 GMT

TIJUANA, Mexico (AP) — Luis Ramirez leapt onto the roof of his bright blue water truck to fill the plastic tank that by day’s end would empty into an assortment of buckets, barrels and cisterns in 100 homes.It was barely 11 a.m. and Ramirez had many more stops to make on the hilly, grey fringes of Tijuana, a sprawling, industrial border city in northwestern Mexico where trucks or “pipas” like Ramirez’s provide the only drinking water for many people. “Each time, it gets farther and farther where we have to go,” he said, blaming the city’s water problems on drought and population growth, before jumping into the driver’s seat next to 16-year-old assistant Daniel Alvarez.Among the last cities downstream to receive water from the shrinking Colorado River, Tijuana is staring down a water crisis driven also by aging, inefficient infrastructure and successive governments that have done little to prepare the city for diminishing water in the region.Entire neighborhoo...

Law change allows someone to give up baby anonymously at safe site in Texas

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:13:25 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — There's a new change to a longtime law in Texas that allows someone to give up a baby, leaving them at a safe place like a fire, EMS or police station. In the past, a person was required to physically leave an infant with an employee on site. Now, "baby boxes" could now be installed throughout Texas, allowing a person to surrender a child anonymously. However, there are a number of logistics to figure out before this happens. Nonetheless, there has been a longtime push from advocates, like Pamela Allen, to help get this legislation passed. Allen is the CEO of the nonprofit Eagle's Flight Advocacy and Outreach. Through her organization, she has organized funerals for abandoned and abused infants. "We did a double burial [one time], Allen said. "Our sheriff was doing a drug raid and found a baby's mummified body in a suitcase…when we were getting ready to organize that burial, we get a phone call that a woman who had lived on the streets. She brought a b...

From Red Raiders to red wine, why Lubbock is the Texas sweet spot for grapes

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:13:25 GMT

LUBBOCK, Texas – Over the last decade, many believe that “Red Raiderland” has gradually become “Red Wine Country.”Wine experts call Lubbock and its surrounding area the new “Wine Capital of Texas,” mostly because 80% of wine grapes grown in Texas come from the South Plains.“The reason is because of our climate, our elevation, and the amount of wind blowing. That really helps out,” said Jason Centanni, winemaker at Lubbock’s Llano Estacado Winery. Shaquille O’Neal opening a restaurant in Lubbock Llano Estacado is one of Lubbock’s oldest and most popular wineries, along with English-Newsome and McPherson Cellars. All three offer wine tastings, wine club memberships and wine tours. Visitors can see the bottling process from start to finish.Near Lubbock (Nexstar/Staff) Llano Estacado Winery (Nexstar/Staff) Llano Estacado Winery (Nexstar/Staff) Llano Estacado Winery (Nexstar/Staff) Llano Estacado Winery (Nexstar/Staff) Jason Centanni (Nexstar/Staff) “A lot of the times, our visitors ar...

Convicted sex offender facing 15 indictments in Berkshire County

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:13:25 GMT

BERKSHIRE COUNTY, Mass. (NEWS10) -- The Berkshire County Court held a bail hearing for Donald Monsees, 71, on Friday. According to the Berkshire County District Attorney's Office, Monsees is a prior convicted sex offender, and the bail hearing was after a 180-day hold expired. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! Per the DA's office, the defense asked for immediate release due to Monsees having chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diabetes, and kidney cancer. Judge Flannery sided with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, saying the Berkshire House of Corrections has provided adequate service, and also took into account Monsees' prior convictions, numerous victims, potential life sentence, and ties to Florida. Flannery set bail at $250,000 cash.Monsees faces 15 indictments including the following charges.Rape of a child with force (two counts)Rape of enhanced a child with force after certain offenses (two counts)Indecent assault ...

3 people killed, 2 injured in St. Ann shooting

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:13:25 GMT

ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. - Three people were shot and killed in a home in St. Ann. Police say a mother, a teen, and a child all died from gunshot wounds.The shooting happened inside a house on Jane Avenue in St. Ann, not too far away from the police department. Three people are dead including a woman, a teenage boy, and a 5-year-old girl.The shooting happened around 9:00 p.m. Upon arrival, St. Ann Police found a teenage boy dead in the kitchen, a woman dead in the garage, and a 5-year-old girl barely alive in the living room.She was rushed to a nearby hospital where she later died from her injuries. 3 people shot and killed, 2 injured in St. Ann shooting The police chief shared with FOX 2 that another teenage girl was shot in the hand. Police also found a man with a possible self-inflicted gunshot wound barely alive. The man was apparently barricaded in the home when police arrived. He was also taken to the hospital for treatment.The investigation is still early, and that's known is ...

Opinion: This Fourth of July, missing rest stops could cause discomfort in your road trip

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:13:25 GMT

It was around 3 p.m., I was passing mile 500 for the day, and my knees were screaming.I’m doing lots of driving these days. Fortunate enough to be able to retire in my 60’s, and in possession of a car that sips gas sparingly and a cat that tolerates solo stints, and with both sons grown, I used my PERA check in June to go see my mom in the Pacific Northwest, and do a bit of traveling for fun as well.Sometimes I talk my partner into coming along, but mostly it’s just me, bombing down the highway at the speed limit (80 mph in Idaho!) and seeing the USA. Often, I even camp. It’s a freewheeling good time, catching 1970’s classics to sing – well, yell – along to, arguing with the surprisingly well-spoken right-wing and Catholic broadcasts, and glimpsing the flabbergasting vistas the Conestoga wagon folks fell in love with, almost 200 years ago.It’s a freewheeling good time, that is, until you need a break.The highways of Washington and Oregon, and even Idaho and Utah, feature beaut...

Two friends open all-day taco shop in Five Points

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:13:25 GMT

The restaurant: Taco Uprising, 2849 Welton St., DenverAbout: Taco Uprising is a Mexican food-inspired taqueria y cantina offering breakfast and day tacos, coffee and agave-forward cocktails. It’s open seven days a week, serving breakfast, lunch and dinner from Monday to Saturday, as well as Sunday brunch. The Five Points restaurant is owned by friends Samuel Valdez and Matias Gutknecht. Valdez’s parents migrated to the U.S. from northern Mexico, and this is his way of sharing his heritage and passion for Mexican cuisine.Taco Uprising serves breakfast and day tacos, like the Birria taco with consommé. (Photo by Kristin Olson with Rosy Heart Photo)What’s on the menu:  Head to the to-go window early for some coffee and breakfast tacos, like the Early Bird Taco with breaded, buttermilk fried chicken, scrambled eggs and chorizo gravy, or the El Classico Taco with refried beans, scrambled eggs, cheese and salsa verde. All breakfast tacos are served on homemade flour tort...

Yellowstone National Park is all patched up. Here are 6 tips for your next trip

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:13:25 GMT

After historic flooding in 2022, Yellowstone National Park is fixed up and ready for visitors this year.“All major road in the park are now open, including the North and Northeast entrance roads, which were washed out due to the historic floods last year,” said Linda Veress, spokesperson for Yellowstone National Park. “Visitors to Yellowstone should anticipate delays due to road improvement projects and allow for extra time and flexibility as they travel throughout the park.”Veress recommends that visitors go to the park’s website for the latest road improvement updates.“The National Park Service did a great job of mobilizing contractors and getting funding,” Rick Hoeninghausen, director of sales and marketing at Yellowstone National Park Lodges, said of the repaired roads. “The main item still in progress is the wastewater treatment plant in Mammoth where the hotel remains closed until the system is fully operational.”The Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel is expected to reopen this summer,...

Denver-area hospitals expand mental health and addiction treatment, but “we just need more”

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:13:25 GMT

The Denver region is seeing an influx of new options for mental health and addiction treatment, but it’s not yet clear how much of a dent those new and expanded programs will put in the sizable unmet demand for such care.UCHealth and Denver Health both recently opened new inpatient units, while a drug treatment facility in Parker is adding two buildings. Construction recently started on a new behavioral health hospital in Westminster, and HealthOne hospitals in the metro area have opened five units offering intensive outpatient behavioral health care to children and adults since 2020.The need for care is significant. About 29% of Colorado adults who reported they were experiencing anxiety or depression said they were unable to get counseling as of spring 2022, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.The Denver Department of Public Health and Environment’s behavioral health needs assessment, which was completed in January, found about 41% of people who said they sought ...