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Rescue organization Hope for Horses opens in Stafford

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:55:31 GMT

STAFFORD, Va. (AP) — Grace Purdum was happy when the thoroughbred mare known as Mare #1 kicked her in the leg one morning.“In our industry, that’s a good thing,” said Purdum, the president of Hope for Horses, a horse rescue and sanctuary that opened last year in the Hartwood area of Stafford County. “I say that openly, because it means she is feeling so much better that now she’s ready to start training.”Mare #1 and her companion, River Rapids, were among 140 horses that were rescued from a breeding facility in Shenandoah County. The animals were malnourished and living in poor, crowded conditions.Purdum, who with her husband Scott also operates Advantage Horsemanship, said she learned about the situation from contacts at Central Virginia Horse Rescue. She told them she could take two of the rescued horses.“They said, ‘Do you want stallions? Pregnant mares? Weanlings? Yearlings?,’” Purdum recalled. “I said, I want none of that! So they said, ‘That means you’re getting the worst-case...

‘This is not a warzone.’ DC acting police chief says 3 dead, 4 injured in mass shooting

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:55:31 GMT

The Metropolitan Police Department is responding to a shooting in Southeast Saturday night, police said. (Christian Flores, 7News) The Metropolitan Police Department is responding to a shooting in Southeast Saturday night, police said. (Christian Flores, 7News) Three people have died, and at least four others have been hospitalized Saturday, in what D.C. Acting Police Chief Pamela Smith called a senseless act of violence in Southeast.“Let me be clear: this gun violence has to stop,” Smith said. “It is incredibly frustrating. We know that someone in the community knows what’s happening.”Officers responded to the shooting near the intersection of Good Hope Road and 16th Street SE betwee...

Denver weather: Mild temperatures with storms later

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:55:31 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) - Denver will see plenty of sunshine today, as highs stay mild in the middle 70s, before storms are possible in the afternoon and evening hours.Weather today: Comfy with PM stormsSunshine early will lead to a few extra clouds in the afternoon as highs top out in the middle 70s. We could see a quick afternoon shower, but rain and storm chances are better in the evening hours for the Front Range.Weather tonight: Rain exitsRain showers will taper and clear after sunset today. Winds will slow overnight as temperatures dip into the middle 50s.Looking ahead: Warming by dry week aheadWe begin the workweek with mostly sunny skies and highs in the lower 80s. Storm chances are low Monday and Tuesday afternoon, but we could see an isolated cell or two pop up. Highs on Tuesday will be a bit warmer and closer to seasonal averages in the middle 80s. Things dry out in the metro for the middle of the week with sunny skies and highs in the mid-80s Wednesday.We heat back up on Thursday...

Wave of missiles and drones pounds Ukraine, hits medical center

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:55:31 GMT

KYIV ­— Russia hit Ukraine with a barrage of missiles and drones overnight, including a strike on a medical center that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy labeled a war crime.The attack started Saturday evening and continued until the early hours of Sunday, Ukraine’s Air Force said in a statement Sunday morning. It followed a Ukrainian assault on a Russian tanker in the Black Sea early Saturday.Ukrainian air defense managed to shoot down 30 missiles and 27 drones, the Air Force said. But Ukrainian officials did not disclose any information about at least five missiles fired against Ukraine last night, including three Kinzhal cruise missiles.“Kinzhals and Kalibr cruise missiles hit Motor Sich [in the Zaporizhzhia region] and hit our Khmelnytskiy region. Our defense forces shot down part of the missiles,” Zelenskyy said in a video statement. Motor Sich is a Ukrainian aircraft-engine manufacturer based in Zaporizhzhia that produces engines for the military-industrial complex....

Sunny Sunday, showers return Monday

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:55:31 GMT

It’s another fantastic forecast today! There’s no excuse not to get outside with low humidity, light wind and warm temperatures. Highs inland reach the low/mid 80s. Sea breezes will keep temperatures slightly lower along the coast.It’s another day of great baseball weather!Overnight we’ll have increasing clouds and a wind shift out of the southwest ahead of changes tomorrow. Overnight lows will stay mild in the 60s. Monday’s high temperatures will likely stay in the upper 70s with a lot of clouds and scattered showers around.Have the umbrella with you tomorrow as a warm front will lift those showers across our region. There could be some light showers around for the mid/late morning. Expect scattered showers into the afternoon.An area of low pressure brings scattered storms back to the forecast late Monday into Tuesday.Downpours will likely be the biggest threat with any of these storms. There’s also a risk for isolated severe storms overnight Mon...

Delayed passengers growl after a bear escapes from the cargo hold of an Iraqi plane in Dubai

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:55:31 GMT

BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq’s prime minister has ordered an investigation into how a bear escaped from its crate aboard an Iraqi aircraft as it was due to depart from Dubai airport, leaving passengers disgruntled over the delay and causing a stir on social media. Iraqi Airways said Saturday it wasn’t to blame for the bear’s escape and that the aircraft’s crew worked with authorities in the United Arab Emirates which dispatched specialists to sedate the animal and remove it from the plane.A video clip circulating on social media showed the plane’s captain apologizing to passengers for Friday’s takeoff delay because of the bear’s escape from its crate in the cargo hold. Iraqi Airways said procedures to transport the bear were carried out in accordance with the law and with procedures and standards approved by the International Air Transport Association (IATA).According to the airline. the bear was being flown from Baghdad to Dubai. A person speaking on the ...

Dozens saved by Italy from migrant shipwrecks; some, clinging to rocks, plucked to safety by copters

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:55:31 GMT

ROME (AP) — Dozens of migrants were dramatically rescued by Italy as they foundered in the sea or clung to a rocky reef Sunday after three boats launched by smugglers from northern Africa shipwrecked in rough waters in separate incidents over the weekend. Survivors said some 30 fellow migrants were missing from capsized vessels. In a particularly risky operation, two helicopters battled strong winds to pluck to safety, one by one, migrants stranded for nearly two days on a steep, rocky reef of tiny Lampedusa island. Firefighters said all all the migrants, including a child, who had been clinging to the rocks after their boat smashed into the reef late Friday early Saturday, were saved. In all, 34 migrants had been stranded for two nights on the reef, including a woman who is eight months pregnant, said Giornale di Sicilia, a newspaper. She was taken to a hospital, it said. Some were rescued by a firefighter helicopter and the others by an Italian air force copter, which lowered expe...

Dirt bike rider dies in crash at Maine motocross park

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:55:31 GMT

MINOT, Maine (AP) — A 19-year-old dirt bike rider was killed when he crashed on a specially designed course with hills and curves, officials said.The motorcycle operator apparently lost control after a jump at Hemond’s Motocross and Offroad Park and then went off the course, crashed through two wooden fences and hit an embankment, the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife said.Jessie Moody, 19, of Lewiston, was pronounced dead at the scene on Saturday, officials said.Moody was wearing a helmet and protective gear, which are required for the course, officials said. Life Flight of Maine, an ambulance crew and firefighters responded and attempted lifesaving measures, officials said.The park in the town of Minot provides trails specifically created for motocross bikes, all-terrain vehicles and other offroad vehicles. The business didn’t immediately respond to emails.The Associated Press

Polish operator starts repairs on pipeline carrying oil from Russia to Europe after detecting a leak

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:55:31 GMT

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland’s oil pipeline operator said Sunday repairs are underway to a pipeline carrying oil from Russia to Germany that was temporarily shut down after a leak was discovered.The operator, PERN, said the pipeline is expected to resume normal operations on Tuesday.PERN said it detected the leak near Chodecz, a town in central Poland about 145 kilometers (90 miles) west of Warsaw. The leak was on one of the two lines that comprise the western section of the Druzhba (Friendship) pipeline.The company said it immediately halted pumping through the faulty pipeline, but the second line was operating normally.Firefighters and emergency services secured the area. An investigation into the cause of the the leak was underway, PERN said. The company said in a statement Sunday that crews have reached the damaged section of the pipeline and that repairs were underway.The Druzhba pipeline stretch carries oil from Russia to refineries in Poland, Germany, Hungary, Slovakia and th...

The EPA’s ambitious plan to cut auto emissions to slow climate change runs into skepticism

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:55:31 GMT

DETROIT (AP) — The U.S. government’s most ambitious plan ever to slash planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions from passenger vehicles faces skepticism both about how realistic it is and whether it goes far enough.The Environmental Protection Agency in April announced new strict emissions limits that the agency says are vital to slowing climate change as people around the globe endure record-high temperatures, raging wildfires and intense storms. The EPA says the industry could meet the limits if 67% of new-vehicle sales are electric by 2032, a pace the auto industry calls unrealistic. However, the new rule would not require automakers to boost electric vehicle sales directly. Instead, it sets emissions limits and allows automakers to choose how to meet them. Even if the industry boosts EV sales to the level the EPA recommends, any reduction in pollution could prove more modest than the agency expects. The Associated Press has estimated that nearly 80% of vehicles being driven in th...