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Netherlands repatriates indigenous remains to Caribbean isle

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:22:24 GMT

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — The Netherlands has returned the remains of nine indigenous people that archaeologists found more than 30 years ago on the tiny Dutch Caribbean island of St. Eustatius, officials said.The request for repatriation was made by the island’s Culture Department as part of a new push to recover artifacts and human remains held by former colonial powers and others to highlight and preserve St. Eustatius’ history.Some artifacts found alongside the bone fragments on the island, known as Statia, date back to the 5th century, the island government said in a press release Monday.“Our story is much broader and richer than even we thought, and it’s up to us to tell this story,” government commissioner Alida Francis said.The repatriation process took nearly a year, and officials said that a local cultural heritage committee will consult residents about how and where to rebury the remains.The Caribs are believed to have lived on St. Eustatius before the arri...

Callery pear tree: How to manage an invasive former favorite

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:22:24 GMT

It’s the late 1940s. World War II has ended, the Baby Boom is in full swing, and incomes are rising, making first-time homeownership possible for many. Cars are being marketed to the masses, so folks can travel farther to work. The post-war expansion of American suburbia has begun.Over the next 50 years, cookie-cutter homes on quiet, tree-lined streets become the epitome of success for those looking to escape crowded cities across America. And the Callery pear, a non-native tree species introduced from Asia in the early 1900s, is often chosen to line those streets.If you, too, have chosen the tree for your property, or inherited it from previous owners, you may now find yourself battling to control and maintain it. Indeed, removal is difficult. But it is possible — if performed in a very specific manner. And for those considering a new planting, there are plenty of suitable replacements. Favored for its fast growth, tight habit, glossy leaves, beautiful white spring flow...

Reports: QB Heinicke leaves Washington, signing with Falcons

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:22:24 GMT

Quarterback Taylor Heinicke’s time with the Washington Commanders is over.The former Old Dominion play caller plans to sign a two-year deal worth up to $20 million to join the Atlanta Falcons. The NFL Network was the first to report his signing.More Sports NewsHeinicke confirmed his exit from Washington in an Instagram post, thanking fans for supporting him during his time with the Commanders.“The love and support has been unmatched the last couple years,” he said. “The memories I’ll cherish forever. You gave me a second chance and it’s forever changed my life.” View this post on Instagram A post shared by Taylor Heinicke (@taylorheinicke)Heinicke started 24 regular-season games over two seasons in Washington, completing 64% of his passes for 5,278 yards with 32 touchdowns and 21 interceptions. The Georgia native turns 30 on Wednesday.Heinicke became a fan favorite for his performances as a starter following injures to Ryan Fitzpatrick and Car...

Spieth, Thomas lead Valspar field as LIV resumes in Arizona

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:22:24 GMT

PGA TOURVALSPAR CHAMPIONSHIPSite: Palm Harbor, Florida.Course: Innisbrook Resort (Copperhead). Yardage: 7,340. Par: 71.Prize money: $8.1 million. Winner’s share: $1.458 million.Television: Thursday-Friday, 2-6 p.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday, 1-3 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3-6 p.m. (NBC).Defending champion: Sam Burns.FedEx Cup leader: Jon Rahm.Last week: Scottie Scheffler won The Players Championship.Notes: In another PGA Tour event caught between elevated events, the Valspar Championship has attracted five of top 25 from the world ranking. Leading the way are Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas and U.S. Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick. … Victor Perez of France, who leads the European tour’s Race to Dubai, is playing on a sponsor exemption. … Spieth won at Innisbrook in a playoff in 2015, the year he won the Masters. … Wesley Bryan and Akshay Bhatia are in the field through their top 10s in the Puerto Rico Open two weeks ago. Bhatia now has special temporary mem...

A bigger March Madness? Many obstacles stand in the way

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:22:24 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — The number was supposed to be 96.The last time the NCAA seriously considered expanding the men’s Division I basketball tournament a plan emerged to add 16 more games and 32 more participants to grow that symmetrically satisfying 64-team bracket.The backlash that followed from college sports administrators back in 2010 was strong enough to scrap the idea. A modest expansion to 68 teams was approved in 2011.“At the end of the day, membership sentiment was that they were not unified in wanting to expand the tournament beyond 68,” recalled Greg Shaheen, the former NCAA vice president for championships.For the first time in more than a decade, NCAA and college sports leaders are committed to a serious examination of increasing the number of teams allowed to compete in an event that has become one of the crown jewels of American sports.The mere suggestion of messing with March Madness, which generates hundreds of millions in revenue annually for the NCAA and its 1,10...

2 injured, 7 displaced after DC apartment fire

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:22:24 GMT

Two people are hurt and seven are displaced Tuesday morning after a fire broke out at a two-story apartment building in Northwest D.C.Firefighters got the call about a fire at the apartment building in the 3800 block of 3rd Street NW just after midnight, a spokesperson for D.C. Fire and EMS told WTOP.More DC NewsMore Local NewsWhen crews arrived, flames were widespread on the back of the building. There was a “large volume,” of fire on both the first and second floors, a tweet from the department said.The two people who were taken to the hospital are expected to survive.A fire at apartments in the 3800 block of 3rd Street NW on March 14, 2023.In addition to the seven displaced people, a dog was also displaced. A cat died and another hasn’t been found.Update Working Fire 3800 3rd St NW. Continue to extinguish pockets of fire. Rotating firefighters who were engaged in original firefight out of the building for relief. Currently 7 displaced residents & 1 dog. 1 de...

Long-serving Cambodian leader Hun Sen hints at retirement

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:22:24 GMT

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen hinted strongly Tuesday that he intends to step down as the country’s long-serving leader when a new government is installed after July’s general election.The 70-year-old Hun Sen has led Cambodia with an iron fist for 38 years, and during the last election in 2018 had vowed to stay in office for two more terms, until 2028. Since then, however, he has spoken often of having his eldest son, Hun Manet, succeed him and appointed him to several high profile and important positions.He explicitly declared his support in December 2021 to have Hun Manet, Cambodia’s West Point-trained army commander, take over his job but only through elections. Hun Manet, 45, holds several other key security posts, and in 2018 already had been elevated from the ruling Cambodian People’s Party’s 865-member Central Committee to its 37-member Standing Committee, the country’s key decision-making body, making him a de facto member of his father’s poli...

Dutch court convicts man of removing condom without consent

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:22:24 GMT

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — A Dutch man was convicted Tuesday of removing his condom during sex without his partner’s consent, in the first trial in the Netherlands for so-called “stealthing.”However Dordrecht District Court acquitted the man of a rape charge because it ruled that the sex was consensual.“By his actions, the suspect forced the victim to tolerate having unprotected sex with him. In doing so, he restricted her personal freedom and abused the trust she had placed in him,” the court said.Other courts also have also tackled the phenomenon in recent years. In a case in Germany, a Berlin court in 2018 convicted a police officer of sexual assault and gave him an eight-month suspended sentence for secretly removing his condom during intercourse, and ordered him to pay damages of nearly 3,100 euros to the victim. The suspended sentence was reduced to six months on an initial appeal.In 2021, California lawmakers made the state the first in the U.S. to outlaw “stealthing...

Alcohol dropped from Truth and Reconciliation centred culinary event after community concerns

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:22:24 GMT

The Isabel Bader Centre will play host to a first of its kind event in Kingston that aims to be a celebration and sharing of Indigenous culinary arts. Tourism Kingston says the event focuses on Call to Action #83 from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s 94 Calls to Action, which calls for prioritizing strategies for Indigenous and non-Indigenous artists to undertake collaborative projects – in this case within the culinary arts. The city tapped into Ontario’s Reconnect Festival and Event grant which will match funds up to $250,000 for the event, and paired up Indigenous chefs from all around Ontario with local chefs to curate a number of different dishes meant to explore Indigenous foodways. Terri-Lynn Brennan, from Inclusive Voices and one of two Indigenous consultants along with Natalie Goldenberg-Fife, said Kingston/Katarokwi is home to so many different Indigenous identities and the selection of chefs tried to keep that in mind.“We’re very cog...

Retired teacher and daughter lose almost $200,000 in wire fraud

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:22:24 GMT

LAKEWOOD, Colo. (KDVR) -- A mom and her daughter in Lakewood are sharing their story to help warn others after they were scammed out of almost $200,000 while trying to buy a townhome. “At some point the chain of email got hacked. I started getting fraud emails and I didn’t realize they were fraud emails," Vicki Ragle, the victim of the scam said. Ragle and her daughter, Sarah, went through the whole purchasing process together and both said the fraud emails posing as the lender, realtor and title company were nearly identical. “All I could think is now I'm homeless and broke. I'm 69-years-old and now I'm broke and homeless," Ragle said. Denver housing costs 37% more than the national average On Wednesday, two days before they were supposed to close, Ragle said the people who she believed at the time were the title company, requested the $196,662.81 due to close. The email also included they required the funds to be remitted 48 hours before closing. “We were supposed to close on a...