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More than 170 trillion plastic particles found in the ocean as pollution reaches ‘unprecedented’ levels

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:24 GMT

(CNN) — The world’s oceans are polluted by a “plastic smog” made up of an estimated 171 trillion plastic particles that if gathered would weigh around 2.3 million tons, according to a new study.A team of international scientists analyzed global data collected between 1979 and 2019 from nearly 12,000 sampling points in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans and the Mediterranean Sea.They found a “rapid and unprecedented” increase in ocean plastic pollution since 2005, according to the study published Wednesday in the journal PLOS ONE.“It is much higher than previous estimates,” Lisa Erdle, director of research and innovation at the 5 Gyres Institute and an author on the report, told CNN.Without urgent policy action, the rate at which plastics enter the oceans could increase by around 2.6 times between now and 2040, the study found.Plastic production has soared in the last few decades, especially single-use plastics, and waste managemen...

Restaurant owner speaks out after ambush, robbery of SW Miami-Dade home

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:24 GMT

The owner of Tasty 305, a restaurant located on Alton Road in South Beach, believes he was lured out of his home by a DoorDash delivery driver before he was attacked by four people.Police officers arrived at Jerome Jones’ home on Southwest 167th Street near 107th Avenue on Thursday morning where they investigated a robbery that took place after the ambush.Jones showed 7News his home where the Ring camera was taken down by the robbers and a window, that he said was damaged by a rock. The thieves, which Jones said he recognized, took off with $2,500.The victim said he received threats on an Instagram Live video he aired in the afternoon on Wednesday. He went to file a police report after the incident and when he did, hours later, he was attacked.“I said, ‘What are you doing here?’ I didn’t order anything and I was in the house alone,” said Jones. “He opened up the bag and it was a water bottle. I said, ‘Who ordered the water bottle?̵...

A startling document predicted Jan. 6. Democrats are missing its other warnings.

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:24 GMT

Weeks before the 2020 election, a secret 87-page document outlined in matter-of-fact language the threat posed by Donald Trump’s still-to-come campaign of election denial. The private paper — the existence of which has not been reported before — forecast with chilling confidence the likelihood of violence during the presidential handover and proposed a far-reaching set of political reforms to thwart Trumpism in the future.Americans remember that dark winter well. But the impetus for structural change has faded, even among Democrats who still privately seethe about the country’s broken political system — and fear an uglier meltdown could come in 2024 or beyond.The report carried a plain title: Plan D. Reading it, I wondered if the D stood for “doomsday.”Actually, the letter was not a cipher. Plan D was the fourth of several studies organized by an opaque advocacy group, known as the Hub, to prepare for the depredations of the Trump era. The Hub is known in Washington for its sophisti...

Top EU court should overturn football’s homegrown player rules: Court aide

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:24 GMT

The European Union’s top court should overturn European football rules that require clubs to keep spots for nationally trained players, a legal adviser to the Court of Justice said Wednesday.If Advocate General Maciej Szpunar’s recommendations are followed, European clubs may have to change how they recruit young players. UEFA — which organizes the Champions League football competition — requires clubs to have at least eight so-called homegrown players on their roster for every game and four trained by their current club. National leagues have similar rules. The players need to have trained in the same national league for at least three years between the ages of 15 and 21. Szpunar said judges should side with Royal Antwerp in a Belgian legal dispute over whether the so-called homegrown player rule unfairly restricts clubs’ ability to recruit players and infringes the EU’s freedom of movement rights.The requirements can “indirectly discriminate against p...

Mass. Gaming Commission to vote on issuing certificates of operation for 7 mobile sports betting platforms

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:24 GMT

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission is expected to vote Thursday morning to issue certificates of operation for the seven mobile betting platforms that plan to launch Friday. During, the commission will also continue its review of mobile betting operators’ house rules. The commission started hammering out the final details at a meeting Wednesday, questioning sportsbook officials about the rules surrounding cancelling bets. On Thursday, members of Attorney General Andrea Campbell’s office are expected to question commissioners on how mobile sports betting is being advertised and whether people under the legal betting age of 21 are being exposed to potentially addictive products. The AG’s office wants the commission to explain what it is doing to ensure people are gambling responsibly as mobile sports betting rolls out, something one gambling researcher says is critical.“The accessibility and the availability and the 24/7 nature of it is a big concern if you ha...

North End restaurant owners sue Mayor Wu, claim outdoor dining policy discriminates against white Italians

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:24 GMT

Five North End restaurant owners are suing Mayor Wu over her new outdoor dining policy, claiming it discriminates against white Italians.The group says the new policy, which requires restaurants to take their tables off the streets, is unfair and not inclusive by specifically targeting restaurant owners in the North End. “We do not want to sit in the back of the bus, we want to sit in the front of the bus with everybody else,” said Monica’s Trattoria co-owner Jorge Mendoza. “We want to have the same opportunity.” The restaurant owners say that rules in the North End have been more restrictive than in any other part of the city. They initially filed suit over the $7,500 permit fees that were levied by the city last year, and now they are angry that they will not be allowed to set up tables on city streets this year. According to the new policy, outdoor dining will be limited to sidewalks and patios. Mayor Wu says the policy isn’t discriminatory and...

Cactus League report: Cody Bellinger hits 1st spring home run — while Pedro Grifol stresses urgency in upcoming stretch

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:24 GMT

Chicago White Sox manager Pedro Grifol didn’t make too much of returning to Surprise Stadium to play the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday night in Surprise, Ariz.Grifol spent the previous 10 seasons in various roles with the Royals before being named Sox manager last fall.”It’s another game that we need to prepare ourselves for Game 1 (of the regular season),” Grifol said Wednesday afternoon. “That’s what the game does to you. It conditions you. You’re in and out of clubhouses. You build relationships, you’re in and out of relationships. I have a lot of friends there still, but I’m here now.”The Cubs’ 11-7 win Wednesday against Team Canada marked their fifth exhibition game against a World Baseball Classic team. They previously went 2-2 in such matchups.6-4 win versus Team Japan on March 18, 20178-7 loss to Team Italy on March 7, 20177-5 win versus Team Japan on March 15, 20133-2 loss to Team Japan on March 12, 2009Jus...

NFL free agency is near. What are realistic goals for Chicago Bears GM Ryan Poles with all that salary-cap space to spend?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:24 GMT

An action-packed offseason for the Chicago Bears will shift into overdrive next week with the beginning of the NFL’s new league year and the opening of free agency. Contracts can’t be finalized until 3 p.m. Wednesday, but negotiations between teams and unrestricted free agents can begin at 11 a.m. Monday.The Bears, according to OverTheCap.com, have approximately $94 million of salary-cap space, the most of any team in the NFL by far. But they also have a roster in need of major replenishment after finishing last season with a franchise-record and league-most 14 losses. So how can general manager Ryan Poles make the most of this opportunity in free agency? How active will the Bears be through several waves this month? And what’s realistic for the team to accomplish as it looks to position itself for a successful draft in April?Tribune Bears writers Dan Wiederer and Colleen Kane put their heads together to survey the landscape of free agency in this edition of “...

Georgia to drop foreign agents bill after massive protests

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:24 GMT

TBILISI, Georgia (AP) — Georgia’s ruling party said Thursday it would withdraw a bill that opponents warned would stifle dissent and curtail media freedoms, after days of massive protests demanding it be dropped.The bill would have required media and nongovernmental organizations that receive over 20% of their funding from foreign sources to register as “agents of foreign influence.” Its opponents argued that it was inspired by a similar law in Russia that is used by authorities there to silence critics and that it could hinder Georgia’s aspirations to join NATO and the European Union.Protests of the bill began last week, but swelled in recent days to bring tens of thousands of people to the streets of the capital, Tbilisi — and were met with tear gas and water cannons. The Interior Ministry said 133 demonstrators have been arrested.Citing the “controversy in society” the bill triggered, the Georgian Dream party and its allies said they would withdraw the proposed law. But tha...

Maple Leaf Foods reports $41.5M Q4 loss, raises quarterly dividend

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:24 GMT

MISSISSAUGA, Ont. — Maple Leaf Foods Inc. raised its dividend as it reported a loss of $41.5 million in its latest quarter due in part to weaker pork markets and a cyberattack.The food processing company says it will now pay a quarterly dividend of 21 cents per share, up from 20 cents per share.The increased payment to shareholders came as Maple Leaf says its loss for the quarter ended Dec. 31 amounted to 34 cents per share compared with a profit of $1.9 million or two cents per share in the last three months of 2021.Sales totalled $1.19 billion, up from $1.12 billion a year earlier.The company says its most recent quarter included a $23-million hit related to what it called a cybersecurity incident in November and $25.8 million in startup expenses related to construction projects.On an adjusted basis, Maple Leaf says it lost 28 cents per share in its fourth quarter compared with an adjusted profit of nine cents per share a year earlier.“2022 was clearly a year of unprecedente...