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Losing hope of finding kids in plane crash, Indigenous searchers turned to a ritual: Ayahuasca

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:50:00 GMT

By REGINA GARCIA CANO (Associated Press)BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — The weary Indigenous men gathered at their base camp, nestled among towering trees and dense vegetation that form a disorienting sea of green. They sensed that their ancestral land — Selva Madre, or Mother Jungle — was unwilling to let them find the four children who’d been missing since their charter plane crashed weeks earlier in a remote area in southern Colombia.Indigenous volunteers and military crews had found signs of hope: a baby bottle, half-eaten fruit, dirty diapers strewn across a wide swath of rainforest. The men were convinced the children had survived. But punishing rains, harsh terrain and the passing of time had diminished their spirits and drained their stamina.The weak of body, of mind, of faith do not make it out of this jungle. Day 39 was do or die — for the children and the search teams.That night at camp, Manuel Ranoque, father of the two youngest children, reached fo...

Column: Chicago Cubs need to ensure that Kyle Hendricks never wears another team’s jersey

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:50:00 GMT

Starting pitching could be the difference in a division such as the National League Central, in which no team really stands out.And in spite of all their faults, the Chicago Cubs have consistently shown they have a rotation that stacks up with the best, especially if Kyle Hendricks continues to pitch like the Hendricks of old.Hendricks earned his second straight win Friday in a 10-3 romp over the Baltimore Orioles, leaving with a one-run lead after five innings and watching the offense pour it on against the Orioles bullpen.In his first start since taking a no-hitter into the eighth inning against the San Francisco Giants, Hendricks allowed two runs on five hits in an 88-pitch outing.“Seeing the results like that definitely builds confidence,” Hendricks said of his no-hit bid. “Before that I’ve been feeling really good, feeling like I’ve been making a lot of pitches. My fastball has been down at the bottom, which is different than the last couple years,...

NCAA committee recommends dropping marijuana from banned drug list for athletes

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:50:00 GMT

By MICHAEL MAROT (AP Sports Writer)INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — An NCAA panel is calling for the removal of marijuana from the organization’s list of banned drugs, suggesting that testing should be limited to performance-enhancing substances.The proposal released Friday from the Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports would mark a big change for the NCAA, which has been conducting drug tests at championship events since 1986. Committee members recommended halting cannabis tests at such events until a final decision is made, likely this fall.Legislation would still have to be introduced and approved by all three NCAA divisions to take effect. Administrators in Divisions II and III had asked the committee to study the issue.The recommendation comes as the U.S. is seeing more and more states allowing medical or recreational marijuana use.Earlier this year, the committee increased the THC threshold needed for a positive test and recommended revamped penaltie...

Canada police say bus carrying seniors did not have the right of way in crash that killed 15

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:50:00 GMT

By ROB GILLIES (Associated Press)TORONTO (AP) — A bus carrying seniors to a casino that collided with a semi-trailer truck in a crash that killed 15 people did not have the right of way, police said Friday, after watching video of the accident. Royal Canadian Mounted Police Supt. Rob Lasson said police also obtained witness statements from passing motorists that corroborated what investigators saw on the dash cam video from the semi truck. “This video indicates the bus entered the roadway where the semi truck had the right of way,” Lasson said, adding later: “We don’t know why the bus proceeded.”He said officers had not been able to speak to the driver of the bus, who is hospitalized. The truck driver has been released from the hospital. Lasson said police were not assigning blame at this time and continued to investigate. He added that officers were looking into whether the truck had mechanical problems. Lasson said investigators had not yet iden...

Bears having summertime fun in Massachusetts; many police departments report sightings, offer tips

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:50:00 GMT

Bears are having summertime fun in the Bay State.From delaying school in Arlington by an hour to traversing across the South Shore, all just this week, there is no sign that bears are getting tired of Massachusetts.The furry beasts are catching the attention of local police departments and animal control officers who are telling the public to stay away from them and let them be.Needham Police is the latest department to join others in offering residents tips on what they can do to deter bears from their properties. The main tip: Secure all trash and recycling containers and remove bird feeders.“The Animal Control Officer is doing what he is supposed to do,” Needham Police posted on Facebook Friday. “DO NOT, under any circumstances follow or track the bear. You are causing it undo stress. If it is causing a public safety threat (acting aggressive, attempting to enter homes), then call 911.”The mere presence of a bear in a populated area is not a public safety threat, and the bear wil...

Harvard Medical School threatened with class action lawsuit; up to 400 cadavers cited

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:50:00 GMT

A lawsuit has been filed after the disclosure of an alleged human body parts trafficking operation connected to the Harvard Medical School where up to 400 donated cadavers could be involved.“The law recognizes that human beings are entitled to be treated with decency and dignity after death including by not having their bodies mishandled, viewed, dismembered, and/or sold by those entrusted with them,” the lawsuit filed Friday in Suffolk Superior Court states.“Families who lose loved ones find solace in temporarily entrusting the bodies of their loved ones to an institution such as Harvard Medical School with the goal of furthering academic and medical research,” it continues. “The actions of the Harvard Medical School morgue manager in mishandling and selling the body parts of cadavers donated to the school was a reprehensible tragedy that should have never happened.”The lawsuit, which seeks recognition as a class action claim and a jury trial, was filed by attorney Jeffrey Catalano...

San Diego State plans to leave Mountain West: report

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:50:00 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- San Diego State University President Adela de la Torre sent a withdrawal letter Tuesday to the Mountain West, saying that the school "intends to resign" from the conference, an ESPN report said.SDSU, which does not appear to have received an invitation from a Power 5 conference at the moment, requested the Mountain West for a "one-month extension given unforeseen delays involving other collegiate athletic conferences beyond our control," sources told ESPN. However, the school informed the league the letter was "not the official notice of resignation," the report said. "San Diego State would need to give a year of notice to withdraw next June. If it waits past June 30, the exit fee it would owe jumps from nearly $16.5 million to nearly $34 million," ESPN said. Alaska Airlines now offering nonstop flights from San Diego to these cities SDSU has previously been linked to the Pac-12, but has not received an invitation from that conference, which is in the process of landi...

‘We know what’s at stake’: Manitoba minibus drivers say safety paramount for seniors

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:50:00 GMT

For seniors in communities across Manitoba, minibuses or handivans are essential means of travel.“Without the use of the handivan as a service, there isn’t much else for seniors who are in wheelchairs or walkers to be able to move around,” said Justin Cicholski, manager of a non-profit handivan service in Neepawa, Man., a town about 190 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg.Fifteen people on a handibus who were headed out on a day trip from a seniors centre to a casino were killed Thursday when it crashed with a semi-trailer truck near Carberry, Man.The bus was carrying 25 men and women between the ages of 58 to 88.Cicholski drives seniors and people with disabilities around in minibuses and minivans in the Neepawa area with Neepawa District Handi Transit.He said a traffic light should be installed at the intersection of the Trans-Canada Highway and Highway 5, where Thursday’s crash happened.Greg Shaw, a driver with the Neepawa company, agreed it’s a busy in...

Brittney Griner is honored in Washington despite missing Mercury’s game with a hip injury

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:50:00 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Brittney Griner waved to fans who applauded her as she walked onto the court, embraced Elena Della Donne and signed an autograph before taking a seat on the bench. A video tribute and standing ovation followed at the first timeout.A hip injury prevented Griner from playing for the Phoenix Mercury against the Washington Mystics on Friday night. Still, Griner was embraced by opponents and the sellout crowd in her first public appearance in the nation’s capital since returning from her imprisonment in Russia, down the road from many of the folks in the U.S. government who worked to get her home. “That was a hard time for all of us,” said Washington guard Shatori Walker-Kimbrough, who played the 2020 season with Griner in Phoenix. “Just knowing her, just knowing her character, knowing her heart, it was just really tough. It’s just an honor and a blessing to see her out, to give her a hug, to talk to her, to hear her voice. And, honestly, she looks great.”Gr...

Fatal tour boat accident prompts New York governor to propose new oversight

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:50:00 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Gov. Kathy Hochul said Friday she wants the state to have regulatory authority over boats that operate in caves and similar waterways following a fatal tour boat accident in an underground water tunnel off the Erie Canal.The Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation regulates commercial boats, Hochul’s office said, but lacks authority to inspect those operating on non-navigable waters, like in the privately owned Lockport Cave.The Democrat will propose legislation to close that loophole, her office said.Earlier this week, a 65-year-old man died and nearly a dozen other passengers were taken to hospitals, mostly with minor injuries, when a flat-bottom boat with 29 people aboard flipped while inside the historic, human-made cavern system in western New York.After the June 12 accident at the Lockport Cave, a human services agency confirmed that a similar incident had occurred during a 2015 outing for clients and staff.“As we mourn the loss of...