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Farms with natural landscape features provide sanctuary for some Costa Rica rainforest birds

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:17:20 GMT

Small farms with natural landscape features such as shade trees, hedgerows and tracts of intact forest provide a refuge for some tropical bird populations, according to an 18-year study in Costa Rica.For almost two decades, ornithologist James Zook has been collecting detailed records on nearly 430 tropical bird species found on small farms, plantations and undisturbed forests in the country.While birds thrive the most in undisturbed rainforests, Zook said some species usually found in forests can establish populations in “diversified farms” that partially mimic a natural forest environment.“How you farm matters,” said Nicholas Hendershot, a Stanford University ecologist and co-author of the study published Monday in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.“In these diversified farms, you see growth over the long term in bird species with specialized needs,” such as safe and shady nooks to build nests and a variety of food sources, Hendershot said. That trend was...

Biden will nominate longtime aide and current adviser to VP to represent the US at UNESCO

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:17:20 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — A longtime aide to President Joe Biden and current top adviser to the vice president is Biden’s choice to represent the United States at the United Nations agency devoted to education, science and culture. The U.S. recently rejoined the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization after a five-year hiatus initiated by Biden’s immediate predecessor in the White House, Donald Trump. The Democratic president’s choice to become the U.S. permanent representative to the Paris-based UNESCO, with the rank of ambassador, is longtime aide Courtney O’Donnell, according to a White House official, who spoke Monday on the condition of anonymity to discuss the nomination before a formal announcement.O’Donnell currently wears two hats: She’s a senior adviser to Vice President Kamala Harris and acting chief of staff for Harris’ husband, second gentleman Doug Emhoff, and she lends her expertise to a range of national and global iss...

Canadian employers missing the mark with hybrid work policies: experts

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:17:20 GMT

As employers call their workers back to the office, experts are saying companies need to consult their employees meaningfully and collect data before making big decisions about hybrid work policies.Many employers are missing the mark with arbitrary policies and requirements, often to their own detriment, according to Kelowna-based workplace consultant Graham Lowe.“The pandemic essentially transformed work as we know it,” he said. “It showed millions of Canadian workers that they could actually work remotely and that there were a significant range of benefits from doing so.”It wasn’t a universal experience: just over a third of Canadians were working from home in mid-2020, according to Statistics Canada, depending hugely on industry. Many essential workers and low-paid employees continued going to work.Related links:Hybrid work model is here to stay in Canada, research findsZoom, which thrived on the remote work revolution, wants workers back in the offi...

West Indian American Day Parade steps off with steel bands, colorful costumes, stilt walkers

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:17:20 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — The annual West Indian American Day Parade stepped off in New York City on Monday with brightly colored costumes, steel bands, flag waving and street dancing.The Brooklyn parade is the culmination of carnival week and one of the world’s largest celebrations of Caribbean culture. The parade routinely attracts more than 1 million people for what has become one the city’s most spirited annual events.A separate street party known as J’Ouvert, commemorating freedom from slavery, began in the early morning hours. The main parade started later in the morning and featured steel drum players, stilt walkers and dancers wearing flamboyant costumes. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor Eric Adams were among the elected officials who either showed up for the parade or marched in it.Hundreds of thousands of Caribbean immigrants and their descendants have settled in Brooklyn and have helped turn the Labor Day celebration into a must-see event.The parade returned last year aft...

Can pets be banned on a rental lease in Ontario?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:17:20 GMT

Ontario’s Residential Tenancies Act (RTA) covers various rights and responsibilities for both landlords and tenants, with detailed sets of rules about a number of everyday issues that may come up for both parties when renting.Some questions that come up often revolve around the legality of banning pets, who is responsible for lawn maintenance and snow removal and whether tenants can paint their rental home.Is a “no pets” clause allowed on a rental lease?The short answer is no, a “no pets” clause on an Ontario lease is void and cannot be enforced.“A landlord cannot ban pets in the lease — under section 14 of the Residential Tenancies Act, that is not a provision that can be included in a lease,” explains Ademofe Oye-Adeniran, a lawyer with the Canadian Center for Housing Rights.She says that it is possible that a landlord may choose not to rent to a prospective tenant who has pets and there are no official rules against that.However onc...

Man attempts to lure kids into car in Bridgeport

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:17:20 GMT

CHICAGO — Police are looking for information after a man attempted to lure three kids into his car in Bridgeport. Chicago police say it happened just after 8 a.m. on Sunday in the 3100 block of South Halsted Street.  Woman beaten during Harwood Heights carjacking dies According to officers, three kids were playing on the sidewalk in the area when a man, who was sitting in the passenger seat of a vehicle, approached the children and asked if he could use their cellphone. Police say while he was talking to the kids, he attempted to lure them inside of his car. Police say a witness then stepped in and the vehicle drove away. The man, who police believe to be between 20 and 30 years of age had a ponytail hairstyle, was shirtless and had multiple tattoos on both of his arms.  Child, teen among those wounded in weekend shootings Officers say the man was sitting in the passenger seat of a car that was being driven by a woman who is believed to be between 40 and 50 years of age. Th...

Shaquille O'Neal surprises woman with new phone at Louisiana Best Buy

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:17:20 GMT

LAFAYETTE, La. (KLFY) — It's not every day you get to see NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal at your local Best Buy, let alone have him buy you a $1,200 phone. Kquoella Lewis says she walked into a Best Buy in Lafayette, Louisiana, to get an iPad — then she noticed a tall someone walking next to her: Shaquille O'Neal.(KLFY)O'Neal was inquiring about the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip phone, and Lewis expressed her thoughts in getting one. O'Neal told the store employee, "Get two: one for me and one for her."Lewis said the other phone wasn't even for him. O'Neal is reportedly an iPhone man.

RECALL: 245K+ pounds of Banquet meals may contain plastic bits

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:17:20 GMT

(WDTN/NEXSTAR) — If you have any Banquet frozen meals in your freezer, you may want to keep reading. Conagra Brands is recalling 245,366 pounds of Banquet chicken strip items (Courtesy of USDA)Conagra Brands is recalling around 245,366 pounds of frozen Banquet chicken strip entrée products. The food could potentially be contaminated with extraneous materials, specifically plastic pieces, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.Affected products were produced on June 20, and July 11 and 17, 2023. Ohio’s ‘offensive’ national forest name may change The affected products are: 8.9 ounce cartons with one entrée of Banquet Chicken Strips MealBest if used by dates are DEC 11 2024, JAN 01 2025 or JAN 07 2025 Lot numbers (printed on sides of carton) include 5009317120, 5009319220 or 5009319820If you see the establish number of "EST. P-9" on the side of the carton, the product is included in the recall.The USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service says it was notified after a custome...

'So much pain': Family of young girl and father killed in hit-and-run crash, suing two men

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:17:20 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — The family who lost a young girl and her father to a hit-and-run crash in east Austin are suing two men who they believe are responsible.   They hope this puts pressure on the men to come forward, even though the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) has not been able to file any charges or make any arrests as of Monday. The hit and run happened on Delta Post Drive in June 2023. Father, 3-year-old daughter on ATV die in hit-and-run crash Family members drive past the crash site — where there's now a small memorial — everyday. It's a painful reminder of losing Azeneth Gomez-Rodriguez and her father Jonathan Gomez-Guajardo. “I'm depressed, [and] I'm sad," Gabriella Rodriguez said. "He took my husband my daughter. Her birthday was on August 10. She was so close to being five years old. I didn't get to celebrate with her. She was so excited to go to kinder...My husband, he had so much stuff ahead. He was the hard working man.”  Gabriela Rodriguez...

Battle Creek father faces long recovery after he was hit by car while mowing

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:17:20 GMT

On Sunday, while friends and neighbors were enjoying their Labor Day weekend, Toby Mengistu readied himself, physically and emotionally, to visit his father at Regions Hospital’s intensive care unit. That’s where Gerawork Mengistu, 60, has lived for the past two weeks, kept alive by tubes and wires while undergoing emergency surgeries for broken bones and a severe head injury, ever since a driver jumped the curb of his Battle Creek home on St. Paul’s East Side and sent the elder man hurtling from his lawn and into the street.The family of Gerawork Mengistu, 60, of St. Paul’s Battle Creek neighborhood, has set up an online fundraiser for him on GoFundMe after an Aug. 19, 2023 hit-and-run left him in the intensive care unit at Regions Hospital in St. Paul. Mengistu, a facilities worker for the University of Minnesota and originally of Ethiopia, is shown in this family photo with his wife Olga and their sons Toby and Matthew, who are now both in their 20s. (Cour...