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South African company to start making vaginal rings that protect against HIV

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:52:57 GMT

A South African company will make vaginal rings that protect against HIV, which AIDS experts say should eventually make them cheaper and more readily available.The Population Council announced Thursday that Kiara Health of Johannesburg will start making the silicone rings in the next few years, estimating that 1 million could be produced annually. The devices release a drug that helps prevent HIV infections and are authorized by nearly a dozen countries and the World Health Organization.The nonprofit council owns the rights to the rings, which are now made by a Swedish company. About 500,00 rings are currently available to women in Africa at no cost, purchased by donors. Ben Phillips, a spokesman at the U.N. AIDS agency, said the advantage of the ring is that it gives women the freedom to use it without anyone else’s knowledge or consent.“For women whose partners won’t use a condom or allow them to take oral (preventive HIV) medicines, this gives them another option,” he said.HIV re...

Leaked document says US is willing to build replacement energy projects in case dams are breached

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:52:57 GMT

SEATTLE (AP) — The U.S. government is willing to help build enough new clean energy projects in the Pacific Northwest to replace the hydropower generated by four controversial dams on the Snake River, according to a leaked Biden administration document that is giving hope to conservationists who have long sought the removal of the dams as a key to restoring depleted salmon runs.Still, Congress would have to agree before any of the Lower Snake River dams in Washington state are removed, and that’s unlikely to happen in the near future.The document is a draft agreement to uphold 168-year-old treaties with four tribes in the Pacific Northwest that preserved their right to harvest fish in the river, among other things. The Columbia River Basin was once the greatest salmon-producing river system in the world, with at least 16 stocks of salmon and steelhead, according to the document. But today, four are extinct and seven are listed under the Endangered Species Act. Conservationists...

Louisiana’s tough-on-crime governor-elect announces new leaders of state police, national guard

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:52:57 GMT

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Throughout his election campaign, Republican Gov.-elect Jeff Landry promised to prioritize fighting crime in Louisiana, a state that in recent years has had one of the highest homicide rates in the country. On Wednesday, he took steps that he said would help fulfill that promise, appointing a new state police chief and other statewide safety and security leadership positions. Landry said he also plans to call the legislature into a special session to address crime once he’s in the governor’s office. Currently the state’s attorney general, Landry said an integral part of his plan as Louisiana’s chief executive is to improve safety in New Orleans, which has often been in the national spotlight for violent crime. The governor-elect remarked during a news conference that he will bring “as much of a law enforcement presence” as necessary to keep New Orleans safe.But when pressed for specifics on tackling crime in the state’s tourist-friendly and ...

US Navy releases underwater footage of plane that overshot a runway floating above Hawaii reef

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:52:57 GMT

KANEOHE BAY, Hawaii (AP) — Tires from a large airplane that’s been stuck in a Hawaii bay for more than a week are resting on parts of a reef, according to video the U.S. Navy released Wednesday as it figures out a plan to remove the aircraft. There were no injuries to the nine people who were on board when the plane landed Nov. 20 in shallow water just offshore of Marine Corps Base Hawaii at Kaneohe Bay. The base is about 10 miles (16 kilometers) from Honolulu. The Navy is investigating what caused the plane to overshoot a runway. The underwater footage shows the “two points of contact the aircraft has with the coral and the remainder of the aircraft floating above,” the Navy said. The video shows tires on the coral as tiny fish swim through rock crevices. A Navy team removed nearly all of the estimated 2,000 gallons (7,500 liters) of fuel on the plane, Rear Adm. Kevin Lenox said Monday. Cmdr. Mark Anderson, who is leading the Navy’s mobile diving and salvage unit working at t...

South Koreans want their own nukes. That could roil one of the world’s most dangerous regions

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:52:57 GMT

CHEORWON, South Korea (AP) — Not far from the big green mountains that stand along the world’s most heavily armed border, dozens of South Korean and U.S. combat engineers build a pontoon bridge to ferry tanks and armored vehicles across a lake, all within easy range of North Korean artillery.For seven decades, the allies have staged annual drills like this recent one to deter aggression from North Korea. The alliance with the United States has allowed South Korea to build a powerful democracy, its citizens confident that Washington would protect them if Pyongyang ever acted on its dream of unifying the Korean Peninsula under its own rule.Until now. North Korea’s repeated threats to launch nuclear weapons at its enemies and its tests of missiles designed for pinpoint strikes on U.S. cities have made South Koreans lose faith in America’s vow to defend their country. The fear is that a U.S. president would hesitate to use nuclear weapons to defend South Korea while knowing North Korea ...

Kim’s sister rejects US offer of dialogue with North Korea and vows more satellite launches

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:52:57 GMT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Thursday dismissed U.S. calls for a return to diplomacy and lambasted condemnations of the North’s recent spy satellite launch, vowing more launches in violation of U.N. bans.During a U.N. Security Council meeting earlier this week, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, called the North’s satellite launch a “reckless, unlawful” action that threatens its neighbors. But she reiterated the U.S. offer for dialogue without any preconditions, saying North Korea “can choose the timing and topic.”Kim’s sister and senior official, Kim Yo Jong, rejected the U.S. overture and threatened more satellite and other weapons launches.“The sovereignty of an independent state can never be an agenda item for negotiations, and therefore, (North Korea) will never sit face to face with the U.S. for that purpose,” Kim Yo Jong said in a statement carried by state media.“(North Korea) will contin...

Total GivingTuesday donations were flat this year, but 10% fewer people participated in the day

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:52:57 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Nonprofit organization GivingTuesday estimates that donors gave $3.1 billion this year on what has become one of the most important fundraising days of the year — the Tuesday after Thanksgiving. Donations were up $20 million on Tuesday, a 0.6% increase over last year before adjusting for inflation, the nonprofit said. GivingTuesday makes its estimate by drawing on data from donor management software companies, donation platforms, payment processors and donor-advised funds. “On the one hand, this is fantastic,” said Woodrow Rosenbaum, GivingTuesday’s chief data officer. “Tens of millions of people in the U.S. came together once again to have a huge impact for causes they care about, including donating an enormous amount of money in a 24 hour period.”But the number of donors was down about 10% from 2022, which Rosenbaum called a worst case scenario for the sector: “We’re seeing less dollars from the big donor that we’ve been relying upon and fewer grassroots dono...

Black employees file federal discrimination suit against Chicago utility

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:52:57 GMT

CHICAGO (AP) — A group of current and former employees at a Chicago utility have filed a federal lawsuit alleging the company discriminated against them because they're Black.The 11 plaintiffs filed the action Tuesday against Peoples Gas, WGN-TV confirmed on Wednesday. When will thousands of students get bus service? CPS has few answers They allege that Black workers were sexualized by non-Black workers, faced racial slurs and were forced to work in high-crime neighborhoods without security.The utility issued a statement Wednesday denying the allegations and insisting it provides equal opportunities for workers.We adamantly deny the allegations made by these individuals, including the extreme and false claims of racial bias, and will vigorously defend the suit. We provide a workplace with equal opportunities for all employees, including a long-standing unionized field workforce.The safety of our team members and the public is always our top priority.  For more than 100 years, Peop...

Planned 9/11 memorial in Elmhurst seeks to honor victims, heroic first responders

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:52:57 GMT

ELMHURST, Ill. — Two decades after the terror attacks on 9/11, the Elmhurst Fire Department wants to create a memorial dedicated to the tragedy's victims and heroes.A professional artist, Jason Peot has been commissioned to create the piece from a donated 13-foot steel rail from under the subway of one of the towers. The homage of public art will go just in front of Fire Station No. 2 off York Road. "The rail is sort of the genesis of the piece,” Peot said. “It’s a heavily conceptual piece being a memorial to 9/11 and first responders. New CPD K9 & Equine Memorial Plaza honors fallen service animals "The structure looks a little bit skeletal, like the remains, but it’s really intended to be more hopeful, a kind of rebuilding monument to the towers." For most, 9/11 is a step back in time that many observed from afar. For Elmhurst Fire Chief Dick Dufort, firefighter Kevin Cork and Deputy Chief Steve Reynolds, the timing seems right for a country so united on Sept. 12, 2001 and w...

Man arrested after protesters try to confront Transportation Secretary Buttigieg at Michigan event

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:52:57 GMT

EAST LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) — Multiple protesters were removed by authorities after they allegedly rushed the stage while U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg gave a speech at Michigan State University. Buttigieg was visiting Michigan to highlight infrastructure investments President Joe Biden has made. Wednesday night, he was attending Michigan State's Public Service Forum at the Kellogg Hotel and Conference Center in East Lansing. According to the forum's website, it is intended to "provide generations of students, faculty and the MSU community with the opportunity to see, hear, and learn from national and international leaders, diplomats and writers."While Buttigieg was delivering remarks, alleged climate protesters appeared to rush the stage, chanting "Petrol Pete." Crews with Nexstar's WLNS noted that a handful of protesters were removed by law enforcement. One protester was seen being physically carried out by two police officers. In another video posted to X, formerly...