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Study: Gas-powered lawn mowers and leaf blowers in Md. produce as much pollution as long car trips

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:46 GMT

It’s leaf blower season, adding new layers of unwelcome noise to the cacophony of daily life.Leaf blowers — along with gas-powered lawn mowers, string trimmers, chainsaws and other garden equipment, also generate an alarming amount of air pollution. Some machines emit as much pollution in an hour as driving hundreds of miles in a car.A recently released report by the Maryland PIRG Foundation, called “Lawn Care Goes Electric: Why It’s Time to Switch to a New Generation of Clean, Quiet Electric Lawn Equipment,” attempts to quantify the public health risks and potential damage.Analyzing U.S. Environmental Protection Agency data, the report found that gas-powered lawn and garden equipment in Maryland emitted an estimated 597 tons of harmful “fine particulate” air pollution in 2020 — an amount equivalent to the pollution emitted by 6.4 million gas-powered cars over the course of a year.Montgomery County, which is phasing out the use of gas-powered leaf blowers and leaf vacuums, ranked 16...

Lexington cop Joseph Carruthers cleared of shooting, killing Brendan Reilly, judge rule

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:46 GMT

A Middlesex County judge cleared a Lexington police officer of fatally shooting 37-year-old Brendan Reilly in February 2022 after Reilly charged with a raised knife at another officer who had slipped and fallen to the ground.Judge Michael Brennan that found Lexington Police Officer Joseph Carruthers had “no reasonable alternative” except to shoot Reilly, who was running towards Officer Steven Papia with a knife, according to a statement from Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan.“The court further finds that when Lexington Police Officer Joseph Carruthers fired his weapon, the situation had escalated to the point where a reasonable law enforcement officer in the same position would reasonably believe that Papia, as well as his fellow officers and others in the area, were in imminent danger of being seriously injured or killed. No reasonable alternative existed except the use of deadly force,” Brennan wrote in a 24-page ruling.Court officials heard testimony from 36 witnesses, acce...

Howie Carr: Loser Dean Tran, indicted again, another success in Massachusetts Republican eyes

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:46 GMT

Will Dean Tran stand up?That’s the big question — indeed the only question — in certain Massachusetts Republican circles right now.The bust-out ex-Republican state senator was indicted for a third time Friday. This one is a federal rap, and now the 48-year-old two-time loser from Fitchburg is staring at some serious prison time.He could get 20 years for wire fraud and another three for filing false tax returns — income tax evasion.Unless, of course, he rats out everybody else in his crew.Very soon the feds will be asking him all the usual questions.How old are your two kids, Dean? Do you how old they’ll be when you get out if you have to do the standard 85 percent of a 20-year stretch?Did anyone ever tell you that our conviction rate is over 99 percent?Do you know the difference between “consecutive” and “concurrent” sentences, because you’re also looking at even more jail time on the state charges, like stealing the old lady’s gun?Senator, do you also realize that at sentencing, th...

Are you of Filipino heritage? A 14-year-old with leukemia needs a bone marrow match

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:46 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- A local 8th grader has a different kind of holiday wish this season -- he just wants a chance to fight for his life. Chase Riehl, now 14-years-old, has faced an ongoing battle with leukemia for the last couple of years. After being diagnosed with an aggressive form of the disease, his childhood journey to remission began, family friend Katie Burk told FOX 5. Leukemia is a broad term for cancers of the blood cells, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) explained. The disease affects blood-forming tissues, including bone marrow. VIDEO: Bioluminescent waves spotted at these San Diego beaches It's also the most common cancer in children younger than the age of 15, NCI noted. Chase Riehl is seen in photos taken pre-leukemia. (Images released by Katie Burk)Chase went through multiple rounds of chemotherapy, and then he received a bone marrow transplant from his mother, Sunshine Riehl. She was only a 50% match -- the best they could find in the Be The Match database, Burk...

Armenia and Azerbaijan speak different diplomatic languages, Armenia’s leader says

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:46 GMT

YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) — Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said Saturday that his country and Azerbaijan are speaking “different diplomatic languages” even though they were able to agree on the basic principles for a peace treaty. Azerbaijan waged a lightning military campaign in September in the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The offensive ended three decades of rule there by ethnic Armenians and resulted in the vast majority of the 120,000 residents fleeing the region, which is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan.Addressing the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, Pashinyan said it was “good that the basic principles of peace with Azerbaijan have been agreed upon.” The principles include Armenia and Azerbaijan recognizing each other’s territorial integrity.But Armenian state news agency Armenpress quoted Pashinyan as going on to say, “We have good and bad news about the Armenia-Azerbaijan peace process.” He sa...

Century-overdue library book is finally returned in Minnesota

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:46 GMT

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — A library book that is more than a century overdue was finally returned in St. Paul, Minnesota.Titled “Famous Composers” and featuring the likes of Bach and Mozart, the tome turned up while someone was sorting through a relative’s belongings. The St. Paul Public Library checkout slip shows it was last borrowed in 1919, Minnesota Public Radio reports. St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter joked in a tweet on Saturday that there would be no fine. The library, like many across the country, stopped charging late fees in 2019. The future of the book is unsure. John Larson, the St. Paul Public Library’s digital library coordinator, said he doubted it will go back into circulation because of its delicate condition, but expected the library to hang onto it.“It has reached a point where it’s not just an old book, it’s an artifact. It has a little bit of history to it,” he said.Larson said in his 25 years working for the library it was the oldest book he ever saw returned. “Ther...

Federal authorities investigate underwater oil pipeline leak off the coast of Louisiana

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:46 GMT

VENICE, La. (AP) — Federal authorities said Saturday that they’re investigating a leak from an underwater oil pipeline off the coast of Louisiana.The National Transportation Safety Board said on X, formerly known as Twitter, that it had sent a four-person team to do a safety investigation and determine the cause of the leak about 19 miles (31 kilometers) offshore from Venice, Louisiana. The agency said the pipeline is operated by Third Coast Infrastructure LLC.The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, said oil sheen was seen on water at around 9 a.m. Thursday and Third Coast Midstream Pipeline reported the leak 10 minutes later. A flight over the area at around 2 p.m. that day reported a slick that was 3 to 4 miles wide (roughly 5.5 kilometers) “with dark oil scattered throughout,” the agency said on its website.The Associated Press

French Holocaust survivors are recoiling at new antisemitism, and activists are pleading for peace

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:46 GMT

PARIS (AP) — Survivors of Nazi atrocities joined young Jewish activists outside the Paris Holocaust memorial Saturday to sound the alarm about resurgent antisemitic hate speech, graffiti and abuse linked to the Israel-Hamas war.The impact of the conflict is drawing increasing concern in France and beyond. Thousands of pro-Palestinian and left-wing activists rallied in Paris and around Britain on Saturday to call for a cease-fire, the latest of several such protests in major cities around the world since the war began.France is home to the largest Jewish population outside Israel and the U.S., and western Europe’s largest Muslim population. The war has re-opened the doors to anti-Jewish sentiment in a country whose wartime collaboration with the Nazis left deep scars. Some 100,000 people marched through Paris last week to denounce antisemitism.Esther Senot, 96, said the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7 stirred up her memories of World War II. “Massacres like that, I have lived ...

California Democrats meet to consider endorsement in US Senate race ahead of March primary

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:46 GMT

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California’s wide-open U.S. Senate race shifts to Sacramento on Saturday as the leading Democratic candidates work to woo activists in search of a state party endorsement ahead of the March primary.U.S. Reps. Adam Schiff, Katie Porter and Barbara Lee, as well as former tech executive Lexi Reese will all make their case to hundreds of party delegates at the California Democratic Party’s annual fall convention. They’re seeking to fill the seat now held by Sen. Laphonza Butler, who was appointed when longtime Sen. Dianne Feinstein died in September. Butler isn’t seeking election.The bar for a formal endorsement — 60% of the vote — is likely out of reach given the top three candidates are all sitting members of Congress with large bases of support. But the vote on Saturday night will offer a glimpse of how the party faithful views the top candidates, two of whom could meet in a head-to-head matchup in the general election should no Repub...

Bruins’ Lucic taking indefinite leave of absence after alleged domestic incident

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:46 GMT

Milan Lucic will be taking an indefinite leave of absence from the team after being involved in an alleged domestic incident Friday evening, the Boston Bruins said Saturday.“The Boston Bruins are aware of the situation involving Milan Lucic Friday evening,” the statement to Sportsnet said. “Milan is taking an indefinite leave of absence from the team. The organization takes these matters very seriously, and we will work with the Lucic family to provide any support and assistance they may need.”Lucic was arrested by Boston Police early Saturday morning following the incident, WCVB Boston reported.The Bruins have announced that Milan Lucic will be taking an indefinite leave of absence following an alleged domestic incident that took place on Friday night. pic.twitter.com/NjGoOXEmlm— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) November 18, 2023Boston Police said it could neither confirm nor deny arresting Lucic early Saturday morning. A message sent to LucicR...