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Hops for beer flourish under solar panels. They’re not the only crop thriving in the shade.

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:19 GMT

AU in der HALLERTAU, Germany (AP) — Bright green vines snake upwards 20 feet (six meters) toward an umbrella of solar panels at Josef Wimmer’s farm in Bavaria.He grows hops, used to make beer, and in recent years has also been generating electricity, with solar panels sprawled across 1.3 hectares (32 acres) of his land in the small hop-making town of Au in der Hallertau, an hour north of Munich in southern Germany. The pilot project — a collaboration between Wimmer and local solar technology company Hallertauer Handelshaus — was set up in the fall of last year. The electricity made at this farm can power around 250 households, and the hops get shade they’ll need more often as climate change turbocharges summer heat.Solar panels atop crops has been gaining traction in recent years as incentives and demand for clean energy skyrocket. Researchers look into making the best use of agricultural land, and farmers seek ways to shield their crops from blistering heat, keep in moisture ...

Bear sniffs out deer carcass in CPW truck

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:19 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- Imagine Officer Drew Vrbenec’s surprise when he recently discovered bear prints covering his Colorado Parks and Wildlife truck. But the bear didn’t just leave behind prints, he tried to open both doors too. The bear almost struck gold as he could smell a stinky deer carcass in the truck, according to CPW Southeast Region's Twitter. Bear activity increased in 2022, trash biggest culprit The bear couldn't find his way into the car, but not for a lack of trying.After pawing over both doors and the roof he left a nose print on the rearview mirror as a warning sign for Coloradans to lock their doors during bear season.  CPW's southeast region posted a picture on Twitter of a department truck covered in bear prints. This isn’t the only bear sighting of the season. Colorado Parks and Wildlife tweeted a few warnings to be “bear aware” as bears are scrummaging through trash cans, bathing in community pools and breaking into cars.  Being bear aware with a veh...

Lionel Messi set to make his Inter Miami debut in Leagues Cup opener against Cruz Azul

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:19 GMT

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.(AP/WSVN) — Lionel Messi’s debut gameday with Inter Miami has arrived.Messi is expected to play Friday night when Inter Miami takes on Cruz Azul in a Leagues Cup match at his new home stadium. Team officials say all tickets — about 21,000, in a newly expanded stadium — have been sold, though thousands were available for resale on secondary markets Friday morning.It’s unclear how much Messi, a World Cup champion for Argentina and someone who Inter Miami co-owner David Beckham calls the best player ever, will be on the field in his debut. He signed a 2-1/2 year contract with Inter Miami this past weekend, and the deal will pay him between $50 million and $60 million annually. That will almost certainly work out to more than $1 million per match.He was introduced to his new home fans on Sunday and officially trained for the first time as a member of the club Tuesday.Messi made the decision in June to join Inter Miami and come to Major League Soccer. He considered a...

Woman arrested for battery and defrauding taxi driver in North Bay Village

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:19 GMT

Crystal Alisha Brewster, a 33-year-old woman from Brooklyn, found herself in police custody after being arrested for battery and defrauding a taxi driver in North Bay Village.The incident took place Thursday, July 20, at approximately 7:30 p.m. when police was dispatched to 7939 East Drive in response to a reported strong-arm robbery of a taxi driver.The victim, a 68-year-old taxi driver who only spoke Creole, explained to officers that he picked up a black female, identified as Brewster, wearing a black top and black skirt from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. He then transported her to 7939 East Drive, where the incident unfolded.Upon arrival at the destination, Brewster allegedly paid only $25 of the $63.15 taxi fare, stating that it was all she would give. When the victim requested the remaining amount, Brewster allegedly smacked his hand, causing the money to fall to the ground. A confrontation ensued inside the building, during which Brewster purportedly hit th...

Groups working to round up domesticated rabbits that have been running loose in Florida neighborhood

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:19 GMT

WILTON MANORS, Fla. (AP) — Dan Trebowski was angry when he saw people in front of his Wilton Manors home trying to capture the lionhead rabbits that have populated his neighborhood. He feared the domesticated bunnies, who are not meant to live outdoors, were being taken away to be killed.He calmed down once he was assured that Dylan Warfel, Tina Crossgrove and Kristina Gertser were from Penny & Wild Smalls of South Florida. Theirs is one of the groups that has begun capturing the estimated 60 to 100 rabbits that have populated the suburban Fort Lauderdale neighborhood so they can be put up for adoption.They are captured using traps, hands and, sometimes, nets. They are not harmed in the process.“It is important that they are not euthanized. It is understandable that this is not the right environment for them,” Trebowski said Thursday night. Still, he is a bit disappointed that the rabbits can’t stay — his two schnauzers love playing with them. Most of them just hop right u...

Pro-war nationalist and Putin scourge Igor Girkin held on extremism charges

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:19 GMT

Igor Girkin, a former soldier-spy and critic of President Vladimir Putin’s conduct of the war against Ukraine, was detained on Friday on charges of inciting extremism after the latest in a series of diatribes against the Kremlin chief appeared to go too far.Girkin, who goes by the nom de guerre Strelkov (“Shooter”), gained notoriety in 2014 when he led a band of irregular troops into Eastern Ukraine and briefly became the breakaway region’s defense minister. He was convicted in absentia of murder by a Dutch court over his role in shooting down a Malaysian Airlines passenger jet, a tragedy that cost 298 lives.The 52-year-old has since reinvented himself as an ultra-nationalist military commentator and has delivered a series of withering critiques of Russia’s war aims and strategy in Ukraine.In a statement posted to Girkin’s Telegram channel, his wife Miroslava Reginskaya said that representatives of Russia’s Investigative Committee — an anti-corruption and c...

Mass. Jobless Rate Sinks To Record Low 2.6 Percent

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:19 GMT

The Massachusetts economy continues to hum along in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic’s disruption, a trend that business leaders and analysts say could forecast more inflationary pressure on the horizon.With employers across the state still struggling to fill open positions, labor officials reported Friday that the statewide unemployment rate ticked downward one-fifth of a percentage point to 2.6 percent in June — the lowest single-month rate since at least 1976.The new record low is a preliminary estimate, and officials might revise the unemployment rate upward when they release the next batch of data in August. Some experts also caution against reading too much into the difference between a 2.6 percent unemployment rate and the previous record of 2.7 percent set each month between July and November 2000.But the broader trend — nearly a year and a half with unemployment at or below 4 percent — still represents a significant turnaround since the public healt...

Biden picks female admiral to lead Navy. She’d be first woman on Joint Chiefs of Staff

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:19 GMT

By LOLITA C. BALDOR (Associated Press)WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden has chosen Adm. Lisa Franchetti to lead the Navy, an unprecedented choice that, if she is confirmed, will make her the first woman to be a Pentagon service chief and the first female member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.Biden’s decision goes against the recommendation of his Pentagon chief. But Franchetti, the current vice chief of operations for the Navy, has broad command and executive experience and was considered by insiders to be the top choice for the job. In a statement Friday, Biden noted the historical significance of her selection and said “throughout her career, Admiral Franchetti has demonstrated extensive expertise in both the operational and policy arenas.”Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin recommended that Biden select Adm. Samuel Paparo, the current commander of the Navy’s Pacific Fleet, several U.S. officials said last month. But instead, Biden is nominating Paparo t...

Significant flooding reported in Massachusetts, a tornado ‘can’t be ruled out’ with more severe storms possible

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:19 GMT

Significant street flooding has been reported in western Massachusetts today, as more heavy rain hammers the region.Less than a week after a tornado touched down in the Bay State, there’s also a slight chance for another isolated tornado today, according to the National Weather Service.Around 2:45 p.m., significant flooding was reported out in Conway and Greenfield, with more heavy rain over the area in western Massachusetts.U.S. Route 5 was closed between Childs Cross Road in Deerfield to Cheapside Bridge in Greenfield due to flooding, as motorists were told to avoid the area.“Several reports of inundation in basements, with significant street flooding,” the National Weather Service’s Boston office tweeted. “Worsening flash flooding is likely as more storms move into the same area.”The highest local risk for scattered severe storms is in western Massachusetts.“Latest update for the risk of severe thunderstorms, primarily this afternoon,R...

San Diego watch parties for 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:19 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- The 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup is underway and Team USA is set to make their world stage debut Friday.San Diego Wave defender Naomi Girma and forward Alex Morgan will be competing for the red, white and blue with their tournament first match starting at 6 p.m. against Vietnam. For those looking to root on the home team at they battle on the turf at Eden Park stadium in New Zealand, there are watch parties around San Diego County where fans are sure to gather. 5 San Diego Wave FC players kick off 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup Here's a breakdown of watch parties in the region for the starter match, along with Team USA's remaining scheduled matches in the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.Friday, July 20: USA vs. Vietam at 6 p.m.-- Novo Brazil Brewing in Otay Ranch: SD Wave is kicking off World Cup action by hosting a doubleheader watch party at this South Bay brewery. The event will start at 6 p.m. PT with the USA’s first World Cup match and will continue with the Wave’s UKG C...