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What’s next for Alaska’s Willow oil project? AP explains

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:20 GMT

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The Biden administration’s approval earlier this week of the largest new oil project in years on Alaska’s petroleum-rich North Slope was immediately met by lawsuits seeking to stop the Willow project. Lawsuits filed by environmental groups and an Alaska Native organization seek to overturn Monday’s approval of three drill sites and up to 199 total wells for the ConocoPhillips Alaska project. The lawsuits allege the U.S. government failed to adequately consider alternatives to greenlighting development.WHAT IS THE WILLOW PROJECT?The 30-year project could produce up to 180,000 barrels of oil a day. That is significant because Alaska’s economic fortunes are tied to the boom-and-bust cycles of oil. The flow of oil through the trans-Alaska pipeline is a fraction of what it was at its height in the late 1980s. Willow also is currently the largest proposed oil project on federal lands. WHERE IS WILLOW?Willow is on Alaska’s remote North Sl...

San Diego State tops Charleston 63-57 in NCAA tourney

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:20 GMT

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Matt Bradley’s last NCAA Tournament game essentially ended with him bobbling the ball out of bounds, a costly turnover against Creigton in an overtime loss last year.There was zero chance he was going to do it again.Bradley scored 17 points and made play after play down the stretch, including hitting two free throws in the final minute, and No. 5 seed San Diego State held on to beat 12th-seeded College of Charleston 63-57 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday.The victory was a measure of redemption for Bradley, whose mistake last year proved costly in the three-point loss.“I’m just thinking positive things,” said Bradley, who insisted he had no flashbacks to the gaffe. “I’m looking at the bench and everybody trusts me now. Nobody side-eying. I think I have full trust in my teammates and in my coaches on making that free throw, so it felt really good.”The senior provided pivotal plays in this one, helping the Aztecs (28-6) win th...

No. 1 seed Kansas cruises past Howard with Self still absent

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:20 GMT

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Jalen Wilson had 20 points and seven rebounds for No. 1 seed and defending national champion Kansas, which allowed absent and recovering coach Bill Self to rest a bit more comfortably during a 96-68 victory over Howard on Thursday in a West Region first-round game. Self is recovering from a heart procedure.“He wished us good luck and told us to go out and do what we do,” Wilson said. Gradey Dick had 19 points and 11 rebounds in the freshman’s first NCAA Tournament game, his first career double-double. K.J. Adams Jr. scored 13 points and Dajuan Harris Jr. added 11 points, seven assists and four steals for the Jayhawks (28-7), who will play No. 8 seed Arkansas in the second round on Saturday.Kansas, which has won 16 consecutive first-round games, is aiming to become the first repeat national champion in 16 years.Shy Odom had 15 points and eight rebounds and Steve Settle III added 13 points for the Bison (22-13), who were making the program’s first tournam...

Ky GOP lawmakers pass ban on gender-affirming care for youth

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:20 GMT

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Republican lawmakers in Kentucky passed a measure Thursday to ban gender-affirming care for transgender minors, completing whirlwind voting on a repackaged proposal that triggered outrage and tears among opponents unable to stop the sweeping policymaking on a culture wars issue.Supporters of the proposal — which affects how gender is discussed in schools — beat a Thursday deadline to retain their power to override an expected gubernatorial veto.GOP supermajorities in the House and Senate overwhelmingly passed the bill, a day after a slimmed-down version had stalled in the Senate and seemingly left the issue in limbo. A cascade of shouting erupted from some bill opponents in the gallery after the Senate vote.The bill’s foes denounced the fast-track maneuvering and the expanded measure’s implications for trans youths. Overcome with emotion, a sobbing Rep. Josie Raymond said children would be harmed. “I’m embarrassed and I’m appalled and I&...

Big banks create $30B rescue package for First Republic

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:20 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Eleven of the biggest U.S. banks Thursday announced a $30 billion rescue package for First Republic Bank in an effort to prevent it from becoming the third to fail in less than a week and head off a broader banking crisis. San Francisco-based First Republic serves a similar clientele as Silicon Valley Bank, which failed last week after depositors withdrew about $40 billion in a matter of hours. New York’s Signature Bank was shuttered on Sunday. It appears that First Republic, which had deposits totaling $176.4 billion as of Dec. 31, was facing similar issues. The group of banks behind the rescue package confirmed that other unnamed banks had seen large withdrawals of uninsured deposits. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation insures deposits up $250,000 for individual accounts.Republic’s shares dropped more than 60% Monday, even after the bank said it had secured additional funding from JPMorgan and the Federal Reserve.The rescue package brought back m...

No. 1 seed Alabama rolls past Texas A&M-CC; Miller scoreless

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:20 GMT

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Alabama buried Texas A&M-Corpus Christi under an early 3-point onslaught, launching the NCAA Tournament’s top seed to a 96-75 first-round romp on Thursday even with star freshman Brandon Miller going scoreless.The Crimson Tide (30-5) set aside their off-court distractions and buried 10 first-half 3s in a predictably easy win over the 16th-seeded Islanders (24-11) at Legacy Arena, less than an hour from campus.Miller, the 6-foot-9 All-American who has been beset by questions about his presence at the scene of a fatal shooting, sat out the final 14 minutes and missed all five field goal attempts while dealing with a groin injury. His previous low was eight points against Houston on Dec. 10.“We’re making shots at a pretty high level,” Alabama coach Nate Oats said. “It’s nice to put up 96 without Brandon scoring any of them. He’s been nursing a groin injury. We want to play him limited minutes and were able to keep him under 20.”Of course, n...

Police: Metro Transit officer shoots man suspected in stabbing at Anacostia Metro station

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:20 GMT

Two men are in the hospital after a separate stabbing and shooting involving a Metro Transit Police officer near the Anacostia Metro station Thursday afternoon.Police said it happened around 4:30 p.m. on Southeast D.C.’s Howard Road, near Shannon Place.D.C. Police Chief Robert Contee confirmed during a news conference that a Metro Transit Police Department officer shot a man who was stabbing another man at the intersection.According to Contee, the incident began on a Circulator bus.“The fight actually occurred on the bus. They got off the bus, they went into the street right behind us, Howard Road. That’s where the stabbing and shooting occurred,” Contee explained.Both the man who was shot and the man who was stabbed have non-life-threatening injuries. They have both been taken to a hospital where they are receiving treatment.“We’re thankful that the officer was here, in close proximity, and able to prevent the person who was being stabbed from fu...

March Madness: Furman, Princeton knock out Virginia, Arizona

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:20 GMT

March Madness has begun! Here is what to know, including the favorites and underdogs as well as key games and how to watch the NCAA Tournament. Oh, and how to fill out your brackets!HOW TO WATCHEvery game of the men’s tournament will be aired — here is a schedule — either on CBS, TBS, TNT or TruTV and their digital platforms. CBS, which also has a handy schedule that includes announcing teams, will handle the Final Four semifinals and national title game this year. The NCAA will again stream games via its March Madness Live option and CBS games will be streamed on Paramount+. Fans of longtime play-by-play announcer Jim Nantz should soak up every moment: It’s his final NCAA Tournament.TOP SEEDSThe top four seeds in the tournament are Alabama, Houston, Kansas, and Purdue. Each is in a region, some tougher than others (on paper), and each has had its share of headaches to set up what could be a chaotic tournament. We break them down for you:EAST REGION: The Boilermakers got a No. 1 see...

Howard paid visit by VP Harris in 1st NCAA tourney since ’92

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:20 GMT

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The first appearance for Howard University in the NCAA Tournament since 1992 included a visit by one of the school’s most prominent alums.Vice President Kamala Harris watched Howard’s 96-68 first-round loss to Kansas from a suite at Wells Fargo Arena on Thursday afternoon and met with the team afterward.As supporters in the hallway chanted “H-U, you know!” players trickled into the locker room. Harris and her husband, Doug Emhoff, walked in a few minutes later.“You played hard. You played to the very last second. You made all us Bisons proud,” Harris said, according to the press pool account of her address of the players. “You are smart. You are disciplined. You put everything you had into the game. You guys did not stop, and that is so inspiring. So you keep playing with chin up and shoulders back because you showed the world who Bison are.”Harris, who graduated in 1986 from the historically Black university in the nation’s capital, s...

School resource officers to be added to elementary level 27J Schools

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:20 GMT

BRIGHTON, Colo. (KDVR) – A Brighton school district is planning to hire additional school resource officers who will be stationed in elementary schools.The plan to increase the number of officers at the schools, which have some of the district’s youngest students, has been in the making for some time.After a shooting outside a high school in Brighton on Wednesday, SROs were among the first on the scene.Voters in this district recently approved spending millions of dollars on school resource officers. The superintendent said Wednesday’s shooting is one example of why they are needed.Turns out, all of 27J’s high schools already have SROs on campus. They include officers from the Brighton Police Department.“We value them and we are grateful for them. Their purpose there is to keep our kids safe,” 27J Schools District Superintendent Chris Fiedler said. 1 shot in Brighton, juvenile suspects detained at Prairie View High School Five middle schools and two charter schools in 27...