ReportWire

Tag: Climate and environment

  • Hundreds of thousands rally in Manila against flood-control corruption scandal

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    MANILA, Philippines — Hundreds of thousands of Filipinos gathered Sunday in the capital in the largest rally so far to demand accountability for a flood-control corruption scandal that has implicated powerful members of Congress and top government officials.

    Various groups have protested in recent months following the discovery that thousands of flood defense projects across one of the world’s most typhoon-prone countries were substandard, incomplete or simply did not exist.

    Government engineers, public works officials and construction company executives have testified under oath in hearings by the Senate and a fact-finding commission that members of Congress and officials at the Department of Public Works and Highways took kickbacks from construction companies to help them win lucrative contracts and avoid accountability. Most denied the allegations.

    About 650,000 members of the Iglesia Ni Cristo, or Church of Christ, joined the start of the three-day rally Sunday in Manila’s Rizal Park despite intermittent rains, police said. Many wore white shirts and carried anti-corruption placards. About 2,000 people, including retired generals, held a separate anti-corruption protest late Sunday at the “People Power” monument in suburban Quezon city.

    “These thieves have made us very outraged because we pay our taxes and these officials just plunder the treasury and rob us of our future,” said Rachel Morte, a 41-year-old resident from northern Pampanga province who joined the huge Manila rally. “We hope we’ll get justice and the stolen money will be returned to the people.”

    Iglesia is an influential group that votes as a bloc and is courted by political candidates during elections.

    The police, backed by the military, went on full alert and deployed thousands of personnel to secure the weekend rallies, which were peaceful, Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla said.

    During a Sept. 21 anti-corruption demonstration, a few hundred black-clad protesters threw rocks, bottles and firebombs at police near the presidential palace in Manila, injuring more than 100 officers. Criminal complaints have been filed against 97 protesters.

    The presidential palace went on security lockdown over the weekend, with major access roads barricaded by anti-riot police, cargo containers and barbed wires.

    National police chief Lt. Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. ordered law enforcement to exercise “maximum tolerance” in Sunday’s rallies.

    Flood control is an especially sensitive issue in the Philippines, one of the Asian countries most prone to deadly typhoons, flooding and extreme weather. Two typhoons left at least 259 dead this month, mostly from flash floods and landslides, and affected millions of others.

    President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has been trying to quell public outrage and street protests sparked by the scandal, saying on Thursday that many of the powerful senators, members of Congress and wealthy businesspeople who were implicated would be in jail by Christmas.

    Marcos said an independent fact-finding commission he created has already filed criminal complaints for graft , corruption and plunder against 37 suspects. Criminal complaints have also been filed against 86 construction company executives and nine government officials for allegedly evading nearly 9 billion pesos ($152 million) in taxes.

    Among those accused are lawmakers opposed to and allied with Marcos, including former House of Representatives Speaker Martin Romualdez, the president’s cousin and a key ally; and former Senate President Chiz Escudero. Both have denied any wrongdoing.

    Sen. Bong Go, a key ally of former President Rodrigo Duterte, has also been accused of involvement in corruption in flood control and other infrastructure projects. He has denied the allegations.

    Duterte, a harsh Marcos critic, was detained by the International Criminal Court in the Netherlands in March on charges of crimes against humanity over his brutal anti-drugs crackdowns.

    His daughter, the current vice president, said Marcos should also be held accountable and jailed for approving the 2025 national budget, which appropriated billions for flood control projects.

    There have been isolated calls, including by some Duterte supporters, for the military to withdraw its backing for Marcos, but Armed Forces of the Philippines chief of staff Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. has repeatedly rejected the idea.

    “With full conviction, I assure the public that the armed forces will not engage in any action that violates the Constitution,” Brawner said. “Not today, not tomorrow and certainly not under my watch.”

    ___

    Aaron Favila in Manila, Philippines contributed.

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  • Preliminary findings show fatigue crack caused Keystone Pipeline oil spill

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    BISMARCK, N.D. — A fatigue crack in the Keystone Pipeline led to an oil spill in North Dakota earlier this year that released thousands of barrels of oil onto farmland, according to the pipeline operator.

    In a quarterly report released Thursday, South Bow said initial findings show, “the failure resulted from a fatigue crack that originated along the pipe’s manufactured long-seam weld.” A fatigue crack develops from stress over time. A mechanical and metallurgical analysis found the pipe and welds met industry standards, the company said.

    Spill-related costs total around $55 million, which the company said it expects to recover through insurance early next year. Through September, South Bow had received about $16 million in reimbursements from its insurance policies.

    The U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration ordered several corrective actions after the spill. The federal government shutdown delayed the release of a third-party “root cause analysis,” South Bow said.

    It’s unclear when those findings will come. A South Bow spokesperson said PHMSA is leading that process and “out of respect for the process, we can’t speak for them.”

    The spill occurred April 8. An employee at the rural site about 60 miles southwest of Fargo heard a “mechanical bang” and shut down the pipeline within two minutes, a state official has said.

    An estimated 3,500 barrels or 147,000 gallons of oil spilled in a field near Fort Ransom, a small town in a forested area with outdoor recreation and scenic views. South Bow sent vacuum trucks and more than 200 workers to aid the cleanup. The pipeline restarted after a six-day shutdown.

    State regulators inspected the site several times in the months after the spill, noting in September that “the vegetation is recovering well,” and that it should be checked again in spring 2026, according to an incident report.

    Nearly 90% of the spilled oil was recovered, according to the report. Crews removed impacted soil to be disposed of elsewhere.

    Local landowner Myron Hammer said South Bow’s cleanup was completed in time for him to plant a soybean crop on the land.

    “I’m surprised that they got everything put back in place as quick as they did. It was a big project,” he said.

    Roughly 5 acres of land were impacted by the spill, though South Bow utilized 40 acres or more for the entire staging area and access, Hammer said. People and vehicles were on site as recently as Thursday, he said. The area of the spill is in gently rolling farmland.

    The company said it has conducted numerous remedial evaluations of the pipeline and found “no injurious issues” so far, with more in-line inspections and integrity digs to come.

    The nearly 2,700-mile (4,345 kilometers) Keystone Pipeline transports crude oil from Alberta, Canada, to refineries in Illinois, Oklahoma and Texas. The pipeline moved an average 580,000 barrels per day from January through September of this year, South Bow said.

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  • Zanzibar’s ‘solar mamas’ are trained as technicians to help light up communities

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    ZANZIBAR, Tanzania (AP) — When darkness came, so did the smoke.

    Hamna Silima Nyange, like half of the 2 million people in Tanzania’s semi-autonomous archipelago of Zanzibar, did not have a house connected to the electricity grid. After sunset, she would turn to smoky oil lamps that provided the only light for her eight children to study.

    ”The light was too weak,” Nyange said. “And the smoke from the lamp hurt my eyes.”

    Then one day a neighbor, Tatu Omary Hamad, installed solar panels and bulbs that lit her home with help from the strong sunlight along the Indian Ocean coast.

    “Today we have enough light,” Nyange said.

    Training women to be solar technicians

    “Solar Mama” technicians walk on the campus of Barefoot College International in Kinyasini, Unguja, Zanzibar, July 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Jack Denton)

    Hamad is one of dozens of “solar mamas” trained in Zanzibar by Barefoot College International, a global nonprofit, through a program that brings light to rural communities and provides jobs for local women. So far in Zanzibar, it has lit 1,845 homes.

    The program selects middle-aged women, most with little or no formal education, from villages without electricity and trains them over six months to become solar power technicians. It is one of a small number of programs in Africa including Solar Sister.

    The women return to their communities with at least 50 sets of household solar panel kits as well as the skills and equipment to set them up and keep them running.

    Barefoot College International focuses on middle-aged women because they tend to have the strongest links to their communities while not often involved in intensive child care.

    “We want to train women who become change makers,” said Brenda Geofrey, the director of Barefoot College International Zanzibar.

    The Zanzibar campus is in its 10th year of teaching local women. Before that, it sent women for training in India, where Barefoot College International was founded.

    "Solar Mama" technicians walk into a classroom on the campus of Barefoot College International in Kinyasini, Unguja, Zanzibar, July 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Jack Denton)

    “Solar Mama” technicians walk into a classroom on the campus of Barefoot College International in Kinyasini, Unguja, Zanzibar, July 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Jack Denton)

    One was Khazija Gharib Issa, who had been an unemployed widow. Now she is a master trainer.

    “I got a job. I got a place to stay. Before, I didn’t have one,” Issa said.

    The importance of health

    Improving health is at the heart of the program’s mission.

    Alongside its flagship solar power course, Barefoot College International offers programs for women in tailoring, beekeeping and sustainable agriculture. Every woman who completes a program is trained in general health knowledge that they are expected to take back to their villages.

    The “solar mamas” are health catalysts in another way, by replacing harmful light sources like kerosene.

    A "Solar Mama" technician wires up a solar charge controller at the campus of Barefoot College International in Kinyasini, Unguja, Zanzibar, July 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Jack Denton)

    A “Solar Mama” technician wires up a solar charge controller at the campus of Barefoot College International in Kinyasini, Unguja, Zanzibar, July 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Jack Denton)

    “Using kerosene has many problems,” said Jacob Dianga, a health care worker at a local clinic who is familiar with the group’s work. The fuel can irritate the eyes, while inhaling its smoke can cause long-term lung damage. It’s also a fire hazard in cramped homes and shops, and can poison children who mistake it for a drink.

    “Clean energy is very important,” Dianga said. “It helps protect our health.”

    Challenges remain

    Barefoot College International has scaled up across Africa, with other campuses in Madagascar and Senegal. In recent years, women have been brought to Zanzibar from Malawi and Somaliland, and this year some are being recruited from Central African Republic.

    A "Solar Mama" technician takes a training session on the campus of Barefoot College International in Kinyasini, Unguja, Zanzibar, July 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Jack Denton)

    A “Solar Mama” technician takes a training session on the campus of Barefoot College International in Kinyasini, Unguja, Zanzibar, July 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Jack Denton)

    Funding remains a challenge as major donors, notably the United States and European ones, cut foreign aid and projects face more competition for money that remains.

    Barefoot College International is run with public and private donations and revenue generated by its social enterprises.

    Another challenge is resistance in local communities, where some people find it hard to accept the women technicians in a radical new gender role.

    While the solar training program recruits with the approval of village leadership, who put forward candidates, some husbands have stopped their wives from training.

    “In most African communities, women are pictured as somebody who is just at home,” Geofrey said.

    But the solar mamas say the results often speak for themselves.

    “People used to say this work is for men. They were surprised and laughed at me,” Issa said. “But now they see how important my work is. I have become an example.”

    A "Solar Mama" technician wires up a solar charge controller at the campus of Barefoot College International in Kinyasini, Unguja, Zanzibar, July 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Jack Denton)

    A “Solar Mama” technician wires up a solar charge controller at the campus of Barefoot College International in Kinyasini, Unguja, Zanzibar, July 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Jack Denton)

    ___

    For more on Africa and development: https://apnews.com/hub/africa-pulse

    The Associated Press receives financial support for global health and development coverage in Africa from the Gates Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

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  • These are the 37 donors helping pay for Trump’s $300 million White House ballroom

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    WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump says his $300 million White House ballroom will be paid for “100% by me and some friends of mine.”

    The White House released a list of 37 donors, including crypto billionaires, charitable organizations, sports team owners, powerful financiers, tech and tobacco giants, media companies, longtime supporters of Republican causes and several of the president’s neighbors in Palm Beach, Florida.

    It’s incomplete. Among others, the list doesn’t include Carrier Group, which offered to donate an HVAC system for the ballroom, and artificial intelligence chipmaker Nvidia, whose CEO, Jensen Huang, publicly discussed its donation.

    The White House hasn’t said how much each donor is giving, and almost none was willing to divulge that. Very few commented on their contributions when contacted by The Associated Press.

    A senior White House official said the list has grown since it was first released in October, but some companies don’t want to be publicly named until required to do so by financial disclosure regulations. No foreign individuals or entities were among the donors, according to the official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss details that haven’t been made public.

    Here’s a look at the divulged donors:

    Tech giants (8):

    Amazon Background: Trump was once highly critical of company founder Jeff Bezos, who also owns The Washington Post, but has been much less so lately. Amazon donated $1 million to Trump’s inauguration, an event attended by Bezos. Its video streaming service paid $40 million to license a documentary about first lady Melania Trump. Its cloud-based computing operation, Amazon Web Services, is a major government contractor.

    Apple Background: After an up-and-down relationship during Trump’s first term, CEO Tim Cook has sought to improve his standing with the president this time. Before returning to the White House, Trump hosted Cook at his Palm Beach estate, Mar-a-Lago, and said he had spoken with Cook about the company’s long-running tax battles with the European Union. Cook also donated $1 million to Trump’s inauguration fund. In the spring, Trump threatened the computing giant with tariffs after Apple announced plans to build manufacturing facilities in India. In August, Cook presented the president with a customized glass plaque with a gold base as the CEO announced plans to bring Apple’s total investment commitment in U.S. manufacturing over four years to $600 billion.

    Google Background: During his first term, Trump’s administration sued Google for antitrust violations. While a candidate last year, Trump suggested he might seek to break up the search engine behemoth. Once Trump won the election, Google donated $1 million to his inauguration, and its CEO, Sundar Pichai, joined other major tech executives in attending the ceremony. Google’s subsidiary, YouTube, agreed in September to pay $24.5 million to settle a lawsuit with Trump after it suspended his account following the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. According to court filings, $22 million of that went to the Trust for the National Mall, which can help pay for ballroom construction.

    HP Background: An original Silicon Valley stalwart, the company donated to Trump’s inaugural fund. HP ‘s CEO, Enrique Lores, participated in a White House roundtable event in September. Lores also previously met with President Joe Biden at the White House on multiple occasions as top CEOs endorsed that administration’s economic plans.

    Meta Background: Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg had been critical of Trump going back to 2016, and Facebook suspended Trump for years after the Jan. 6 insurrection. This time around, Meta contributed $1 million to Trump’s inauguration, and Zuckerberg attended.

    Micron Technology Background: The producer of advanced memory computer chips announced an April 2024 agreement with the Biden administration to provide $6.1 billion in government support for Micron to make chips domestically. Then, in June, Micron pledged $200 billion for U.S. memory chip manufacturing expansion under Trump. But at least $120 billion of that involved holdovers first announced during Biden’s administration.

    Microsoft Background: The company donated $1 million to Trump’s inauguration, twice what it spent for Biden’s or for Trump’s first inauguration. CEO Satya Nadella has also met with Trump numerous times, as Microsoft has supported the administration’s relaxation of regulations on artificial intelligence. He met previously with Biden, too. Trump has called for Microsoft’s president of global affairs, Lisa Monaco, to be fired because she was a deputy attorney general under Biden when the Justice Department led several investigations against Trump.

    Palantir Technologies Background: Co-founded by billionaire libertarian Peter Thiel, the firm concentrates on artificial intelligence and machine learning. It has seen profits soar thanks to lucrative defense and other federal contracts.

    Crypto (5):

    Coinbase Background: The major cryptocurrency exchange was founded by Brian Armstrong, a top donor to a political action committee that helped Trump and other pro-crypto candidates in 2024. Armstrong attended the first crypto summit at the White House in March. Coinbase also hired Trump’s co-campaign manager, Chris LaCivita, to its Global Advisory Council.

    Ripple Background: In March, the Securities and Exchange Commission dropped a lawsuit filed during Trump’s first term, which accused the company of violating securities laws by selling XRP crypto coins without a securities registration. In his second term, Trump has eased regulations on digital assets, repealing an SEC accounting rule and a previous presidential executive order mandating more federal study and proposed changes to crypto regulations.

    Tether Background: A cryptocurrency company and major stablecoin issuer, Tether paid fines for misleading investors. CEO Paolo Ardoino has been to Trump’s White House, and, in April, the company hired former Trump administration crypto policy official Bo Hines to lead its domestic expansion efforts.

    Cameron Winklevoss and Tyler Winklevoss Background: Each Winklevoss twin is listed as a separate donor. Best known as Zuckerberg’s chief antagonists in “The Social Network,” the brothers founded the Gemini cryptocurrency exchange. Biden’s SEC sued Gemini for selling unregistered securities, but the case has been paused under Trump.

    Energy and industrial (4):

    Caterpillar Background: The equipment maker ‘s PAC has donated to candidates from both parties, but given more to Republicans. It has also said publicly that Trump’s tariffs, some of which the administration has now eased, could increase its costs and hurt earnings.

    NextEra Energy Background: NextEra is the world’s largest electric utility holding company. Trump says he’ll work to ensure tech giants can secure their own sources of electricity to power data centers, especially as they expand energy-hogging artificial intelligence operations. Google recently entered into an agreement to buy power from a shuttered nuclear power plant in Iowa owned by NextEra, which the company plans to bring back online in 2029.

    Paolo Tiramani Background: An American industrial designer who has donated to Trump’s political campaigns. Tiramani, with his son, runs BOXABL, a firm specializing in modular, prefabricated homes.

    Union Pacific Background: Trump has endorsed the company’s proposed $85 billion acquisition of Norfolk Southern, which would be the largest-ever rail merger. It also will be up to the president to appoint two more Republican members of the Surface Transportation Board, who will ultimately decide whether to approve the merger. In August, Trump fired one of the two Democratic members of the board.

    Philanthropy (3):

    Adelson Family Foundation Background: Founded to strengthen the state of Israel and the Jewish people, the foundation was created by Miriam Adelson, the majority owner of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks, close Trump ally and longtime GOP megadonor. She’s also the widow of Sheldon Adelson, the billionaire founder and owner of Las Vegas Sands.

    Betty Wold Johnson Foundation Background: Based in Palm Beach, the foundation supports health, arts and culture initiatives, as well as environmental and educational programs. It’s named in honor of the mother of New York Jets owner Woody Johnson, who served as Trump’s ambassador to the United Kingdom during his first term.

    Laura & Isaac Perlmutter Foundation Background: The nonprofit based in Lake Worth Beach, near Palm Beach, focuses on promoting health care, social justice, the arts and community initiatives. Isaac is an Israeli American businessman and financier and former chair of Marvel Entertainment. He and his wife have donated to Trump’s presidential campaigns and affiliated PACs.

    Trump administration officials (3):

    Benjamin Leon Jr. Background: The Cuban American founder of Miami-based Leon Medical Centers is Trump’s nominee for U.S. ambassador to Spain.

    Kelly Loeffler and Jeffrey Sprecher Background: A former Republican senator from Georgia, Loeffler heads Trump’s Small Business Administration. Her husband is CEO of the energy market Intercontinental Exchange Inc. and chairs the New York Stock Exchange. The couple faced scrutiny in 2020 for dumping substantial portions of their portfolio and purchasing new stocks, including in firms making protective equipment, after Congress received briefings on the severity of the coming coronavirus pandemic.

    Lutnick Family Background: Howard Lutnick is Trump’s commerce secretary. A crypto enthusiast, he once headed the brokerage and investment bank Cantor Fitzgerald.

    Communications/entertainment (3):

    Comcast Background: The mass media and telecom conglomerate has often been criticized by Trump, including in April, when the president posted that Comcast was a “disgrace to the integrity of broadcasting.” The company owns NBC and is spinning off MSNBC. It could be interested in acquiring Warner Bros. Discover, and that would leave Comcast looking for government approval.

    Hard Rock International Background: A Florida-based gaming and tourism concern owned by the Seminole Tribe, the company operates a number of casinos, including the former Trump Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Trump has for decades criticized federal exemptions allowing tribes to operate casinos.

    T-Mobile Background: The wireless carrier is indirectly linked to Trump Mobile, which the president’s family controls and offers gold phones and cell service in a licensing deal. Trump Mobile uses Liberty Mobile Wireless, a small, Florida-based network that T-Mobile says runs its operations on T-Mobile’s network. T-Mobile says that is unrelated to its decision to donate to Trump’s ballroom, which it says is meant to “restore and enrich the historic landmarks that define our nation’s capital.”

    Big Tobacco (2):

    Altria Group Background: The tobacco giant controls Philip Morris USA, maker of Marlboro. It has pressed for federal crackdowns on counterfeit and illegal vaping products. The company donated $50,000 to Trump’s inauguration.

    Reynolds American Background: With brands including Lucky Strike and Camel, the company has been active in lobbying to steer the Trump administration away from a Biden-proposed ban on menthol cigarettes.

    Defense/national security (2):

    Booz Allen Hamilton Background: A major defense and national security technology firm with extensive government contracts, it paid fines to settle lawsuits with the Justice Department under Biden. Booz Allen Hamilton agreed to pay more than $377 million in 2023 to settle allegations that it improperly billing costs to its government contracts. In January, it paid nearly $16 million to settle allegations that it submitted fraudulent claims in connection with government contracts.

    Lockheed Martin Corporation Background: The massive defense contractor has huge government contracts. It said in a statement that it “is grateful for the opportunity to help bring the President’s vision to reality and make this addition to the People’s House.”

    Individuals (7):

    Stefan E. Brodie Background: A biotech entrepreneur and co-founder of the chemical manufacturing company Purolite, Brodie and his family donated to Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign and affiliated committees. Brodie and his brother, Donald, were convicted in 2002 of circumventing U.S. sanctions on Cuba.

    Charles and Marissa Cascarilla Background: Charles Cascarilla is co‑founder of the blockchain firm Paxos. He and his wife are philanthropists who have advocated for financial technology sector deregulation.

    J. Pepe and Emilia Fanjul Background: Longtime Republican donors and Palm Beach residents, the couple controls U.S. sugar refining interests that includes the Domino brand.

    Edward and Shari Glazer Background: Members of the family that owns the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers and has a controlling stake in the Manchester United football club, the couple donated to Trump’s campaign. Edward is the founder and CEO of US Property Trust, which operates shopping centers, and the car dealership company US Auto Trust.

    Harold Hamm Background: The billionaire oil tycoon and pioneer of hydraulic fracturing heads the oil producer Continental Resources. He’s praised the Trump administration for aggressively moving to purchase oil to replenish the Strategic Petroleum Reserve stockpile.

    Stephen A. Schwarzman Background: A Palm Beach resident and chair and CEO of the Blackstone Group, a global private equity firm he helped establish in 1985. Schwarzman has donated to Trump and his PACs previously and led his first-term President’s Strategic and Policy Forum.

    Konstantin Sokolov Background: Born in Russia, he immigrated to the U.S. and now heads the Chicago-based private equity firm IJS Investments. Sokolov has donated to many educational and charitable causes in the past, and to Trump’s political campaigns.

    ___

    Associated Press writer Darlene Superville contributed to this report.

    ___

    This story has been updated to correct the first name of an individual who donated to the White House ballroom. He is Harold Hamm, not Howard Hamm.

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  • Zanzibar’s ‘solar mamas’ are trained as technicians to help light up communities

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    ZANZIBAR, Tanzania — When darkness came, so did the smoke.

    Hamna Silima Nyange, like half of the 2 million people in Tanzania’s semi-autonomous archipelago of Zanzibar, did not have a house connected to the electricity grid. After sunset, she would turn to smoky oil lamps that provided the only light for her eight children to study.

    ”The light was too weak,” Nyange said. “And the smoke from the lamp hurt my eyes.”

    Then one day a neighbor, Tatu Omary Hamad, installed solar panels and bulbs that lit her home with help from the strong sunlight along the Indian Ocean coast.

    “Today we have enough light,” Nyange said.

    Hamad is one of dozens of “solar mamas” trained in Zanzibar by Barefoot College International, a global nonprofit, through a program that brings light to rural communities and provides jobs for local women. So far in Zanzibar, it has lit 1,845 homes.

    The program selects middle-aged women, most with little or no formal education, from villages without electricity and trains them over six months to become solar power technicians. It is one of a small number of programs in Africa including Solar Sister.

    The women return to their communities with at least 50 sets of household solar panel kits as well as the skills and equipment to set them up and keep them running.

    Barefoot College International focuses on middle-aged women because they tend to have the strongest links to their communities while not often involved in intensive child care.

    “We want to train women who become change makers,” said Brenda Geofrey, the director of Barefoot College International Zanzibar.

    The Zanzibar campus is in its 10th year of teaching local women. Before that, it sent women for training in India, where Barefoot College International was founded.

    One was Khazija Gharib Issa, who had been an unemployed widow. Now she is a master trainer.

    “I got a job. I got a place to stay. Before, I didn’t have one,” Issa said.

    Improving health is at the heart of the program’s mission.

    Alongside its flagship solar power course, Barefoot College International offers programs for women in tailoring, beekeeping and sustainable agriculture. Every woman who completes a program is trained in general health knowledge that they are expected to take back to their villages.

    The “solar mamas” are health catalysts in another way, by replacing harmful light sources like kerosene.

    “Using kerosene has many problems,” said Jacob Dianga, a health care worker at a local clinic who is familiar with the group’s work. The fuel can irritate the eyes, while inhaling its smoke can cause long-term lung damage. It’s also a fire hazard in cramped homes and shops, and can poison children who mistake it for a drink.

    “Clean energy is very important,” Dianga said. “It helps protect our health.”

    Barefoot College International has scaled up across Africa, with other campuses in Madagascar and Senegal. In recent years, women have been brought to Zanzibar from Malawi and Somaliland, and this year some are being recruited from Central African Republic.

    Funding remains a challenge as major donors, notably the United States and European ones, cut foreign aid and projects face more competition for money that remains.

    Barefoot College International is run with public and private donations and revenue generated by its social enterprises.

    Another challenge is resistance in local communities, where some people find it hard to accept the women technicians in a radical new gender role.

    While the solar training program recruits with the approval of village leadership, who put forward candidates, some husbands have stopped their wives from training.

    “In most African communities, women are pictured as somebody who is just at home,” Geofrey said.

    But the solar mamas say the results often speak for themselves.

    “People used to say this work is for men. They were surprised and laughed at me,” Issa said. “But now they see how important my work is. I have become an example.”

    ___

    For more on Africa and development: https://apnews.com/hub/africa-pulse

    The Associated Press receives financial support for global health and development coverage in Africa from the Gates Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

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  • These are the 37 donors helping pay for Trump’s $300 million White House ballroom

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    WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump says his $300 million White House ballroom will be paid for “100% by me and some friends of mine.”

    The White House released a list of 37 donors, including crypto billionaires, charitable organizations, sports team owners, powerful financiers, tech and tobacco giants, media companies, longtime supporters of Republican causes and several of the president’s neighbors in Palm Beach, Florida.

    It’s incomplete. Among others, the list doesn’t include Carrier Group, which offered to donate an HVAC system for the ballroom, and artificial intelligence chipmaker Nvidia, whose CEO, Jensen Huang, publicly discussed its donation.

    The White House hasn’t said how much each donor is giving, and almost none was willing to divulge that. Very few commented on their contributions when contacted by The Associated Press.

    A senior White House official said the list has grown since it was first released in October, but some companies don’t want to be publicly named until required to do so by financial disclosure regulations. No foreign individuals or entities were among the donors, according to the official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss details that haven’t been made public.

    Here’s a look at the divulged donors:

    Amazon Background: Trump was once highly critical of company founder Jeff Bezos, who also owns The Washington Post, but has been much less so lately. Amazon donated $1 million to Trump’s inauguration, an event attended by Bezos. Its video streaming service paid $40 million to license a documentary about first lady Melania Trump. Its cloud-based computing operation, Amazon Web Services, is a major government contractor.

    Apple Background: After an up-and-down relationship during Trump’s first term, CEO Tim Cook has sought to improve his standing with the president this time. Before returning to the White House, Trump hosted Cook at his Palm Beach estate, Mar-a-Lago, and said he had spoken with Cook about the company’s long-running tax battles with the European Union. Cook also donated $1 million to Trump’s inauguration fund. In the spring, Trump threatened the computing giant with tariffs after Apple announced plans to build manufacturing facilities in India. In August, Cook presented the president with a customized glass plaque with a gold base as the CEO announced plans to bring Apple’s total investment commitment in U.S. manufacturing over four years to $600 billion.

    Google Background: During his first term, Trump’s administration sued Google for antitrust violations. While a candidate last year, Trump suggested he might seek to break up the search engine behemoth. Once Trump won the election, Google donated $1 million to his inauguration, and its CEO, Sundar Pichai, joined other major tech executives in attending the ceremony. Google’s subsidiary, YouTube, agreed in September to pay $24.5 million to settle a lawsuit with Trump after it suspended his account following the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. According to court filings, $22 million of that went to the Trust for the National Mall, which can help pay for ballroom construction.

    HP Background: An original Silicon Valley stalwart, the company donated to Trump’s inaugural fund. HP ‘s CEO, Enrique Lores, participated in a White House roundtable event in September. Lores also previously met with President Joe Biden at the White House on multiple occasions as top CEOs endorsed that administration’s economic plans.

    Meta Background: Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg had been critical of Trump going back to 2016, and Facebook suspended Trump for years after the Jan. 6 insurrection. This time around, Meta contributed $1 million to Trump’s inauguration, and Zuckerberg attended.

    Micron Technology Background: The producer of advanced memory computer chips announced an April 2024 agreement with the Biden administration to provide $6.1 billion in government support for Micron to make chips domestically. Then, in June, Micron pledged $200 billion for U.S. memory chip manufacturing expansion under Trump. But at least $120 billion of that involved holdovers first announced during Biden’s administration.

    Microsoft Background: The company donated $1 million to Trump’s inauguration, twice what it spent for Biden’s or for Trump’s first inauguration. CEO Satya Nadella has also met with Trump numerous times, as Microsoft has supported the administration’s relaxation of regulations on artificial intelligence. He met previously with Biden, too. Trump has called for Microsoft’s president of global affairs, Lisa Monaco, to be fired because she was a deputy attorney general under Biden when the Justice Department led several investigations against Trump.

    Palantir Technologies Background: Co-founded by billionaire libertarian Peter Thiel, the firm concentrates on artificial intelligence and machine learning. It has seen profits soar thanks to lucrative defense and other federal contracts.

    Coinbase Background: The major cryptocurrency exchange was founded by Brian Armstrong, a top donor to a political action committee that helped Trump and other pro-crypto candidates in 2024. Armstrong attended the first crypto summit at the White House in March. Coinbase also hired Trump’s co-campaign manager, Chris LaCivita, to its Global Advisory Council.

    Ripple Background: In March, the Securities and Exchange Commission dropped a lawsuit filed during Trump’s first term, which accused the company of violating securities laws by selling XRP crypto coins without a securities registration. In his second term, Trump has eased regulations on digital assets, repealing an SEC accounting rule and a previous presidential executive order mandating more federal study and proposed changes to crypto regulations.

    Tether Background: A cryptocurrency company and major stablecoin issuer, Tether paid fines for misleading investors. CEO Paolo Ardoino has been to Trump’s White House, and, in April, the company hired former Trump administration crypto policy official Bo Hines to lead its domestic expansion efforts.

    Cameron Winklevoss and Tyler Winklevoss Background: Each Winklevoss twin is listed as a separate donor. Best known as Zuckerberg’s chief antagonists in “The Social Network,” the brothers founded the Gemini cryptocurrency exchange. Biden’s SEC sued Gemini for selling unregistered securities, but the case has been paused under Trump.

    Caterpillar Background: The equipment maker ‘s PAC has donated to candidates from both parties, but given more to Republicans. It has also said publicly that Trump’s tariffs, some of which the administration has now eased, could increase its costs and hurt earnings.

    NextEra Energy Background: NextEra is the world’s largest electric utility holding company. Trump says he’ll work to ensure tech giants can secure their own sources of electricity to power data centers, especially as they expand energy-hogging artificial intelligence operations. Google recently entered into an agreement to buy power from a shuttered nuclear power plant in Iowa owned by NextEra, which the company plans to bring back online in 2029.

    Paolo Tiramani Background: An American industrial designer who has donated to Trump’s political campaigns. Tiramani, with his son, runs BOXABL, a firm specializing in modular, prefabricated homes.

    Union Pacific Background: Trump has endorsed the company’s proposed $85 billion acquisition of Norfolk Southern, which would be the largest-ever rail merger. It also will be up to the president to appoint two more Republican members of the Surface Transportation Board, who will ultimately decide whether to approve the merger. In August, Trump fired one of the two Democratic members of the board.

    Adelson Family Foundation Background: Founded to strengthen the state of Israel and the Jewish people, the foundation was created by Miriam Adelson, the majority owner of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks, close Trump ally and longtime GOP megadonor. She’s also the widow of Sheldon Adelson, the billionaire founder and owner of Las Vegas Sands.

    Betty Wold Johnson Foundation Background: Based in Palm Beach, the foundation supports health, arts and culture initiatives, as well as environmental and educational programs. It’s named in honor of the mother of New York Jets owner Woody Johnson, who served as Trump’s ambassador to the United Kingdom during his first term.

    Laura & Isaac Perlmutter Foundation Background: The nonprofit based in Lake Worth Beach, near Palm Beach, focuses on promoting health care, social justice, the arts and community initiatives. Isaac is an Israeli American businessman and financier and former chair of Marvel Entertainment. He and his wife have donated to Trump’s presidential campaigns and affiliated PACs.

    Benjamin Leon Jr. Background: The Cuban American founder of Miami-based Leon Medical Centers is Trump’s nominee for U.S. ambassador to Spain.

    Kelly Loeffler and Jeffrey Sprecher Background: A former Republican senator from Georgia, Loeffler heads Trump’s Small Business Administration. Her husband is CEO of the energy market Intercontinental Exchange Inc. and chairs the New York Stock Exchange. The couple faced scrutiny in 2020 for dumping substantial portions of their portfolio and purchasing new stocks, including in firms making protective equipment, after Congress received briefings on the severity of the coming coronavirus pandemic.

    Lutnick Family Background: Howard Lutnick is Trump’s commerce secretary. A crypto enthusiast, he once headed the brokerage and investment bank Cantor Fitzgerald.

    Comcast Background: The mass media and telecom conglomerate has often been criticized by Trump, including in April, when the president posted that Comcast was a “disgrace to the integrity of broadcasting.” The company owns NBC and is spinning off MSNBC. It could be interested in acquiring Warner Bros. Discover, and that would leave Comcast looking for government approval.

    Hard Rock International Background: A Florida-based gaming and tourism concern owned by the Seminole Tribe, the company operates a number of casinos, including the former Trump Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Trump has for decades criticized federal exemptions allowing tribes to operate casinos.

    T-Mobile Background: The wireless carrier is indirectly linked to Trump Mobile, which the president’s family controls and offers gold phones and cell service in a licensing deal. Trump Mobile uses Liberty Mobile Wireless, a small, Florida-based network that T-Mobile says runs its operations on T-Mobile’s network. T-Mobile says that is unrelated to its decision to donate to Trump’s ballroom, which it says is meant to “restore and enrich the historic landmarks that define our nation’s capital.”

    Altria Group Background: The tobacco giant controls Philip Morris USA, maker of Marlboro. It has pressed for federal crackdowns on counterfeit and illegal vaping products. The company donated $50,000 to Trump’s inauguration.

    Reynolds American Background: With brands including Lucky Strike and Camel, the company has been active in lobbying to steer the Trump administration away from a Biden-proposed ban on menthol cigarettes.

    Booz Allen Hamilton Background: A major defense and national security technology firm with extensive government contracts, it paid fines to settle lawsuits with the Justice Department under Biden. Booz Allen Hamilton agreed to pay more than $377 million in 2023 for improperly billing costs to its government contracts. In January, said it’d pay nearly $16 million to settle allegations that it submitted fraudulent claims in connection with government contracts.

    Lockheed Martin Corporation Background: The massive defense contractor has huge government contracts. It said in a statement that it “is grateful for the opportunity to help bring the President’s vision to reality and make this addition to the People’s House.”

    Stefan E. Brodie Background: A biotech entrepreneur and co-founder of the chemical manufacturing company Purolite, Brodie and his family donated to Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign and affiliated committees. Brodie and his brother, Donald, were convicted in 2002 of circumventing U.S. sanctions on Cuba.

    Charles and Marissa Cascarilla Background: Charles Cascarilla is co‑founder of the blockchain firm Paxos. He and his wife are philanthropists who have advocated for financial technology sector deregulation.

    J. Pepe and Emilia Fanjul Background: Longtime Republican donors and Palm Beach residents, the couple controls U.S. sugar refining interests that includes the Domino brand.

    Edward and Shari Glazer Background: Members of the family that owns the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers and has a controlling stake in the Manchester United football club, the couple donated to Trump’s campaign. Edward is the founder and CEO of US Property Trust, which operates shopping centers, and the car dealership company US Auto Trust.

    Howard Hamm Background: The billionaire oil tycoon and pioneer of hydraulic fracturing heads the oil producer Continental Resources. He’s praised the Trump administration for aggressively moving to purchase oil to replenish the Strategic Petroleum Reserve stockpile.

    Stephen A. Schwarzman Background: A Palm Beach resident and chair and CEO of the Blackstone Group, a global private equity firm he helped establish in 1985. Schwarzman has donated to Trump and his PACs previously and led his first-term President’s Strategic and Policy Forum.

    Konstantin Sokolov Background: Born in Russia, he immigrated to the U.S. and now heads the Chicago-based private equity firm IJS Investments. Sokolov has donated to many educational and charitable causes in the past, and to Trump’s political campaigns.

    ___

    Associated Press writer Darlene Superville contributed to this report.

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  • Traditional acai berry dishes surprise visitors to Brazil climate summit, no sugar added

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    BELEM, Brazil (AP) — Some acai berry lovers visiting Brazil for this week’s U.N. climate summit are in for a surprise when they taste the fruit popular around the world in smoothies and breakfast bowls.

    Acai bowls served by local vendors in Belem — the city hosting the 30th annual United Nations climate summit, the Conference of the Parties, known less formally as COP30 — are true to the dish’s rainforest roots, served unadulterated and without sugar.

    This traditional preparation has been a tough sell for some visitors, used to the frozen and sweetened acai cream sold in other countries and elsewhere in Brazil.

    “I can’t say this is bad and I totally respect the cultural importance of it, but I still prefer the ice creamy version,” said Catherine Bernard, a 70-year-old visitor from France, as she tasted a traditional acai berry bowl in downtown Belem on Thursday.

    “Maybe if we add a little honey, some banana,” she added.

    Acai is put in a blender at a market amid the nearby COP30 U.N. Climate Summit, Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025, in Belem, Brazil. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

    Not a dessert

    People in the Amazon, where the nutrient-rich berry has been cultivated for centuries by Indigenous populations, don’t treat their acai bowls as a side order or dessert.

    It is often the main course for any meal. They don’t add granola, fresh fruit or nuts. Sugar is forbidden. Served at room temperature, the traditional dish is a thick liquid prepared from whole berries and a bit of water, typically sprinkled with tapioca flour.

    Locals hope that exposing visitors to this original blend will increase awareness about a fruit facing pressure from tariffs and a changing environment.

    “The acai coming from Indigenous people is the food when there’s no food. It was never a drink or an extra. It can be the main course for us,” Tainá Marajoara, an activist and owner of a restaurant, told The Associated Press, wearing an Indigenous headdress.

    As Marajoara poured some of the dark liquid into an Amazon bowl called “cuia,” a vessel traditionally fashioned from gourds and now popular throughout Brazil, she said that acai trees need a protected surrounding in the rainforest so they can be at their best.

    Acai berries sit in a bowl at a market amid the nearby COP30 U.N. Climate Summit, Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025, in Belem, Brazil. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

    Acai berries sit in a bowl at a market amid the nearby COP30 U.N. Climate Summit, Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025, in Belem, Brazil. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

    “Acai is also the blood running in the forest,” she added.

    Marajoara’s restaurant at the COP30 pavilion charges 25 Brazilian reais ($5) for a bowl, about the same as bowls in other parts of Brazil that use industrially processed and sweetened acai cream, often with toppings.

    That version was made popular in the mid-1990s by surfers and jiujitsu fighters in Rio de Janeiro, and then exported around the world as millions of tourists developed a taste for it.

    Even in many parts of Brazil, it can be hard to find unsweetened acai. Some Brazilian parents who want their children to have the superfood’s benefits without the sugar look for stores that sell acai cream without added sweeteners. But most popular brands only produce sweetened versions.

    Where the world’s acai comes from

    Nearly all the acai consumed in the United States originates from Brazil, with the state of Para, whose capital is Belem, accounting for 90% of the country’s total production. Many communities in the Amazon depend on its harvest, which largely goes to the industrialized product.

    Prices of acai smoothies look uncertain for U.S. consumers as the product is subject to a 50% tariff imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump on many Brazilian exports.

    The harvesting of acai is a physically demanding job that requires workers known as “peconheiros” to climb tall trees with minimal safety equipment to fill baskets and place them carefully in crates.

    Acai is served to a kid at a market amid the nearby COP30 U.N. Climate Summit, Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025, in Belem, Brazil. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

    Acai is served to a kid at a market amid the nearby COP30 U.N. Climate Summit, Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025, in Belem, Brazil. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

    A full crate of acai sells for around $50 at local markets in Brazil, a price that is expected to plummet if U.S. sales slow down. The U.S. is by far the largest acai importer of a total Brazilian output, currently estimated at about 70,000 tons (63,500 metric tons) per year.

    In some coastal areas of the Amazon under little environmental protection, erosion is changing the taste of some of the acai, making them saltier and less colorful. That’s why people like Marajoara keep pushing not only for their original bowls during COP30, but also for higher surveillance for acai trees of the region.

    “The acai berry that belongs in our food culture comes from flood plain areas, from a healthy ecosystem,” she said. “For acai to be healthy, the rainforest needs to be healthy too.”

    ___

    The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

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  • Voters’ anger at high electricity bills and data centers looms over 2026 midterms

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    Voter anger over the cost of living is hurtling forward into next year’s midterm elections, when pivotal contests will be decided by communities that are home to fast-rising electric bills or fights over who’s footing the bill to power Big Tech’s energy-hungry data centers.

    Electricity costs were a key issue in this week’s elections for governor in New Jersey and Virginia, a data center hotspot, and in Georgia, where Democrats ousted two Republican incumbents for seats on the state’s utility regulatory commission.

    Voters in New Jersey, Virginia, California and New York City all cited economic concerns as the top issue, as Democrats and Republicans gird for a debate over affordability in the intensifying midterm battle to control Congress.

    Already, President Donald Trump is signaling that he’ll focus on affordability next year as he and Republicans try to maintain their slim congressional majorities, while Democrats are blaming Trump for rising household costs.

    Front and center may be electricity bills, which in many places are increasing at a rate faster than U.S. inflation on average — although not everywhere.

    “There’s a lot of pressure on politicians to talk about affordability, and electricity prices are right now the most clear example of problems of affordability,” said Dan Cassino, a professor of politics and government and pollster at Fairleigh Dickinson University in New Jersey.

    Rising electric costs aren’t expected to ease and many Americans could see an increase on their monthly bills in the middle of next year’s campaigns.

    Higher electric bills on the horizon

    Gas and electric utilities are seeking or already secured rate increases of more that $34 billion in the first three quarters of 2025, consumer advocacy organization PowerLines reported. That was more than double the same period last year.

    With some 80 million Americans struggling to pay their utility bills, “it’s a life or death and ‘eat or heat’ type decision that people have to make,” said Charles Hua, PowerLines’ founder.

    In Georgia, proposals to build data centers have roiled communities, while a victorious Democrat, Peter Hubbard, accused Republicans on the commission of “rubber-stamping” rate increases by Georgia Power, a subsidiary of power giant Southern Co.

    Monthly Georgia Power bills have risen six times over the past two years, now averaging $175 a month for a typical residential customer.

    Hubbard’s message seemed to resonate with voters. Rebecca Mekonnen, who lives in the Atlanta suburb of Stone Mountain, said she voted for the Democratic challengers, and wants to see “more affordable pricing. That’s the main thing. It’s running my pocket right now.”

    Now, Georgia Power is proposing to spend $15 billion to expand its power generating capacity, primarily to meet demand from data centers, and Hubbard is questioning whether data centers will pay their fair share — or share it with regular ratepayers.

    Midterm battlegrounds in hotspots

    Midterm elections will see congressional battlegrounds in states where fast-rising electric bills or data center hotspots — or both — are fomenting community uprisings.

    That includes California, Georgia, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Texas.

    Analysts attribute rising electric bills to a combination of forces.

    That includes expensive projects to modernize the grid and harden poles, wires and substations against extreme weather and wildfires.

    Also playing a role is explosive demand from data centers, bitcoin miners and a drive to revive domestic manufacturing, as well as rising natural gas prices, analysts say.

    “The cost of utility service is the new ‘cost of eggs’ concern for a lot of consumers,” said Jennifer Bosco of the National Consumer Law Center.

    In some places, data centers are driving a big increase in demand, since a typical AI data center uses as much electricity as 100,000 homes, according to the International Energy Agency. Some could require more electricity than cities the size of Pittsburgh, Cleveland or New Orleans.

    While many states have sought to attract data centers as an economic boon, legislatures and utility commissions were also flooded with proposals to try to protect regular ratepayers from paying to connect data centers to the grid.

    Meanwhile, communities that don’t want to live next to one are pushing back.

    It’s on voters’ minds

    An Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll from October found that electricity bills are a “major” source of stress for 36% of U.S. adults.

    Now, as falls turns to winter, some states are warning that funding for low-income heating aid is being delayed because of the federal government shutdown.

    Still, the impact is still more uneven than other financial stressors like grocery costs, which just over half of U.S. adults said are a “major” source of stress.

    And electric rates vary widely by state or utility.

    For instance, federal data shows that for-profit utilities have been raising rates far faster than municipally owned utilities or cooperatives.

    In the 13-state mid-Atlantic grid from Illinois to New Jersey, analysts say ratepayers are paying billions of dollars for the cost to power data centers — including data centers not even built yet.

    Next June, electric bills across that region will absorb billions more dollars in higher wholesale electricity costs designed to lure new power plants to power data centers.

    That’s spurred governors from the region — including Pennsylvania’s Josh Shapiro, Illinois’ JB Pritzker and Maryland’s Wes Moore, all Democrats who are running for reelection — to pressure the grid operator PJM Interconnection to contain increases.

    High-rate states vs. lower-rate rates

    Drew Maloney, the CEO of the Edison Electric Institute, a trade association of for-profit electric utilities, suggested that only some states are the drivers of higher average electric bills.

    “If you set aside a few sates with higher rates, the rest of the country largely follows inflation on electricity rates,” Maloney said.

    Examples of states with faster-rising rates are California, where wildfires are driving grid upgrades, and those in New England, where natural gas is expensive because of strained pipeline capacity.

    Still, other states are feeling a pinch.

    In Indiana, a growing data center hotspot, the consumer advocacy group, Citizens Action Coalition, reported this year that residential customers of the state’s for-profit electric utilities were absorbing the most severe rate increases in at least two decades.

    Republican Gov. Mike Braun decried the hikes, saying “we can’t take it anymore.”

    ___

    Associated Press reporter Jeff Amy in Atlanta contributed to this report.

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  • What to know about COP30, this year’s UN climate talks

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    People from around the world are beginning to gather at the gateway of the Amazon in Belem, Brazil, for the 30th annual United Nations climate summit, the Conference of the Parties, known less formally as COP30.

    The aim is simple, but lofty: for countries to work together to stop the worst effects of human-caused climate change.

    That’s a goal many experts say is slipping out of reach. But the stakes are high. Climate change is already escalating disasters that mean life or death for billions of people around the world, and delaying action will only worsen the problem.

    Here’s what you need to know about COP30.

    With the world’s largest rainforest on its doorstep, many have lauded Belem as well-positioned to highlight the role of Indigenous peoples and land stewardship in addressing climate change.

    Although many past COPs have primarily focused on transitioning to cleaner energy sources, research has shown that shifting food systems is also a must. Countries also need to stop destroying the ecosystems that suck up pollution and protect humans from diseases.

    The government of Brazil is spearheading a new initiative called the Tropical Forests Forever Facility, a program designed to give nations a monetary reward for protecting forests. It remains to be seen whether world leaders will pledge enough money to make the project a success.

    Before the conference, many would-be attendees worried about whether the city could host tens of thousands of people. Delegates have booked rooms on cruise ships in the harbor. Others are staying in by-the-hour “love motels,” and some activists said they might camp out.

    The weather is expected to be oppressively hot and humid, and as such the host country has already written to attendees to make the dress code a little more informal.

    But some experts and locals say any discomfort is a much-needed reality check, especially for those coming from rich countries. The government of Brazil was adamant that the conference needed to be in Belem to showcase what’s at stake: Poorer communities are often more vulnerable to disasters worsened by climate change.

    Ten years ago, countries made a historic deal in the first global pact to fight climate change.

    Since then, the planet’s annual temperature has already jumped about 0.46 degrees Celsius (0.83 degrees Fahrenheit), one of the biggest 10-year temperature hikes on record, according to data from the European climate service Copernicus. The Paris Agreement was supposed to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above the historical average, but many scientists now say it’s unlikely countries will stay below that threshold.

    But the world has made some progress. Renewable energy is now cheaper in most places than polluting coal, oil and natural gas. And if countries agree to do what they’ve said so far, they could stave off a little over a full degree Celsius warming. That may not sound like much, but every tenth of a degree matters when it comes to the effects on catastrophic weather.

    This year, countries had homework: to show up with their updated national plans to fight climate change. The United States, one of the world’s biggest polluters, won’t be submitting theirs, having dropped out of the Paris Agreement. And many experts have criticized other countries’ plans as too little to do what’s needed.

    Unlike the Paris Agreement, or even last year when negotiators were trying to get countries to agree on how much rich countries should pay poor countries to adapt to climate change, this year’s talks aren’t expected to end with any ambitious new deal.

    Instead, organizers and analysts frame this year’s conference as the “implementation COP.”

    “Those who go to Belem asking the question ‘what is the agreement that is going to come out of it?’ are asking the wrong question,” said Christiana Figueres, former U.N. climate chief.

    For the talks to be a success, world leaders need to beef up efforts and money for adapting to climate change and fund billion-dollar efforts to prevent deforestation and land degradation, said Suely Vaz, who used to run Brazil’s environment agency.

    But Panama’s environment minister, Juan Carlos Navarro, told The Associated Press that he expects little from the talks. He said such meetings have become “a jet-setting orgy of bureaucrats who travel around the world with a tremendous carbon footprint and achieve nothing.”

    ___

    Follow Melina Walling on X @MelinaWalling and Bluesky @melinawalling.bsky.social.

    ___

    The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

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  • South Korean solar firm cuts pay and hours for Georgia workers as US officials detain imports

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    A South Korean solar company says it will temporarily reduce pay and working hours for about 1,000 of its 3,000 employees in Georgia because U.S. customs officials have been detaining imported components for solar panels

    ATLANTA — A South Korean solar company says it will temporarily reduce pay and working hours for about 1,000 of its 3,000 employees in Georgia because U.S. customs officials have been detaining imported components needed to make solar panels.

    Qcells, a unit of South Korea’s Hanwha Solutions, said Friday that it will also lay off 300 workers from staffing agencies at its plants in Dalton and Cartersville, both northwest of Atlanta.

    The company says U.S. Customs and Border Protection has been detaining imported components at ports on suspicion that they contain materials that may have been made with forced labor in China, meaning it can’t run its solar panel assembly lines at full strength.

    Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced in August that her department was stepping up enforcement of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, a 2021 law that restricts Chinese goods made with forced labor from entering the U.S. Published reports indicate that U.S. officials began detaining solar cells made by Qcells in June. A spokesperson for Customs and Border Protection couldn’t immediately answer questions about Qcells on Friday.

    Qcells says none of its materials or components are made with forced labor or even come from China. Spokesperson Marta Stoepker said the company maintains “robust supply chain due diligence measures” and “very detailed documentation,” which has been successful in getting some shipments released.

    “Our latest supply chain is sourced completely outside of China and our legacy supply chains contain no material from Xinjiang province based on third party audits and supplier guarantees,” Stoepker said.

    She said Qcells is continuing to cooperate and expects to resume full production in the coming weeks and months.

    “Although our supply chain operations are beginning to normalize, today we shared with our employees that HR actions must be taken to improve operational efficiency until production capacity returns to normal levels,” Stoepker said in a statement.

    Qcells has said it pays workers an average of about $53,000 a year. Workers will retain full benefits during furloughs.

    Qcells is completing a $2.3 billion plant in Cartersville that will let it take polysilicon refined in Washington state and make ingots, wafers and solar cells — the building blocks of finished solar modules. That will allow it to reduce imports of solar modules. The company has said it will finish the plant even though President Donald Trump and the Republican Congress dismantled most of the tax credits for buying solar panels earlier this year.

    “Our commitment to building the entire solar supply chain in the United States remains,” Stoepker said. “We will soon be back on track with the full force of our Georgia team delivering American-made energy to communities around the country.”

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  • A lesser-known Farmers’ Almanac will fold after 2 centuries, citing money trouble

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    PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — It’s the Maine one, not the main one — a 208-year-old, Maine-based publication that farmers, gardeners and others have relied on for planting guidance and weather predictions will publish for the final time.

    The Farmers’ Almanac, not to be confused with its older, longtime competitor, The Old Farmer’s Almanac in neighboring New Hampshire, said Thursday that its 2026 edition will be its last. The almanac cited the growing financial challenges of producing and distributing the book in today’s “chaotic media environment.” Access to the online version will cease next month.

    The Farmers’ Almanac was first printed in 1818 and the Old Farmer’s Almanac started in 1792, and it’s believed to be the oldest continually published periodical in North America. Both almanacs used secret formulas based on sunspots, planetary positions and lunar cycles to generate long-range weather forecasts.

    “It is with a heavy heart,” Editor Sandi Duncan said in a statement, “that we share the end of what has not only been an annual tradition in millions of homes and hearths for hundreds of years, but also a way of life, an inspiration for many who realize the wisdom of generations past is the key to the generations of the future.”

    Editors at the other publication noted there’s been some confusion between the two. “The OLD Farmer’s Almanac isn’t going anywhere,” they posted online.

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    The two publications come from an era where hundreds of almanacs served a nation of farmers over time. Most were regional publications and no longer exist. The Farmers’ Almanac was founded in New Jersey and moved its headquarters to Lewiston, Maine, in 1955.

    They contain gardening tips, trivia, jokes, and natural remedies, such as catnip as a pain reliever and elderberry syrup as an immune booster. But its weather forecasts make the most headlines.

    Scientists sometimes disputed the accuracy of the predictions and the reliability of the secret formula. Studies of the almanacs’ accuracy have found them to be a little more than 50% accurate, or slightly better than random chance.

    The almanac was a “quaint relic” with a special kind of charm, but its use as a forecasting tool was debatable, said Val Kiddings, a senior fellow at the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation and a longtime researcher of science and agriculture.

    “It might have had some value looking back, as a historical indicator,” Giddings said, “but I never took any of its prognostications at all seriously.”

    Readers, saddened to hear the news, posted online about how they used it in their families for generations as a guide to help them plant gardens and follow the weather.

    Julie Broomhall in San Diego, California, told The Associated Press in a social media post that she’s used the Farmers’ Almanac for years to decide when to take trips and plant flowers.

    She said she planned a three-month, cross-country trip last year by reading the almanac. On one leg of it, she left Oklahoma the day before a prediction for a major snowstorm in the area. It snowed.

    “I missed several I-40 mishaps because of the predictions,” she wrote.

    In 2017, when the Farmers’ Almanac reported a circulation of 2.1 million in North America, its editor said it was gaining new readers among people interested in where their food came from and who were growing fresh produce in home gardens. It developed followers online and sent a weekly email to readers in addition to its printed editions.

    Many of these readers lived in cities, prompting the publication to feature skyscrapers as well as an old farmhouse on its cover.

    Among Farmers’ Almanac articles from the past is one from 1923 urging folks to remember “old-fashioned neighborhoodliness” in the face of newfangled technology like cars, daily mail and telephones. Editors urged readers in 1834 to abandon tobacco and, in 1850, promoted the common bean leaf to combat bedbugs.

    The almanac had some forward-thinking advice for women in 1876, telling them to learn skills to avoid being dependent on finding a husband. “It is better to be a woman than a wife, and do not degrade your sex by making your whole existence turn on the pivot of matrimony,” it counseled.

    ___

    McCormack reported from Concord, New Hampshire.

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  • Woman rescues a beached shark in Oregon

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    A woman walking her dogs on a beach near Portland, Oregon, found a small shark struggling in a tidepool

    MANZANITA, Ore. — A woman was walking her dogs on an Oregon beach when she saw a small shark struggling.

    It was lucky timing for the salmon shark, which was suffocating in a low tide area near the shoreline.

    “I was essentially nervous about touching it at all,” Colleen Dunn, wrote in a text message Wednesday. “I have three kids so I didn’t wanna put myself in a dangerous position.”

    At first, she thought it was a baby great white.

    Dunn called her husband at an office at Nehalem Bay State Park for advice, but got no answer. So, with her dogs waiting patiently, she grabbed the 3-foot (1-meter) shark by the tail and rushed it to deeper water while taking a video of it on her phone.

    The shark was able to push water through its gills once again, and then swam out of view.

    Dunn says she posted about the encounter last month on a local social media group, and nobody reported the shark washing back up on shore. She used to live in Hawaii and recently moved her family to Manzanita, Oregon, near the park where she saw the shark. The ocean and the creatures in it give her a sense of belonging, she said.

    “I’ve lived in other places across the Pacific, and the ocean has always been my grounding place. Being engaged with it, watching the tides, noticing the wildlife, even stepping in when a creature needs help keeps me present and humble,” Dunn said.

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  • Farmers’ Almanac say it will cease publication after 208 years

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    A 208-year-old publication that farmers, gardeners and others keen to predict the weather have relied on for guidance will be publishing for the final time.

    Farmers’ Almanac said Thursday that its 2026 edition will be its last, citing the growing financial challenges of producing and distributing the book in today’s “chaotic media environment.” Access to the online version will cease next month.

    The Maine-based publication, not to be confused with the even older Old Farmer’s Almanac in neighboring New Hampshire, was first printed in 1818. For centuries it’s used a secret formula based on sunspots, planetary positions and lunar cycles to generate long-range weather forecasts.

    The almanac also contains gardening tips, trivia, jokes and natural remedies, like catnip as a pain reliever or elderberry syrup as an immune booster. But its weather forecasts make the most headlines.

    “It is with a heavy heart that we share the end of what has not only been an annual tradition in millions of homes and hearths for hundreds of years, but also a way of life, an inspiration for many who realize the wisdom of generations past is the key to the generations of the future,” Editor Sandi Duncan said in a statement.

    In 2017, when Farmers’ Almanac reported a circulation of 2.1 million in North America, its editor said it was gaining new readers among people interested in where their food came from and who were growing fresh produce in home gardens.

    Many of these readers lived in cities, prompting the publication to feature skyscrapers as well as an old farmhouse on its cover.

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  • From a few to more than 350, children and parents ride together to school as a ‘bike bus’

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    MONTCLAIR, New Jersey (AP) — On a sunny fall morning, children wearing helmets and backpacks gathered with their parents in Montclair, New Jersey, for a group bicycle ride to two local elementary schools. Volunteers in orange safety vests made sure everyone assembled in a neighborhood shopping area was ready before the riders set off on their 5-mile “bike bus” route.

    Every few blocks, more adults and kids on bikes joined in. Eventually, the group grew to over 350 people. Older students chatted with friends, while younger ones focused on pedaling. Cars along the way stopped to let the long line of cyclists pass. Pupils and parents peeled off toward the first school before the remainder reached the group’s final stop.

    It’s a familiar Friday scene in Montclair. For the past three years, what began as a handful of parents hoping to encourage their kids to bike to school has grown into a weekly ritual for both the township of about 40,000 residents and many of its families.

    “It was so fun,” second grader Gigi Drucker, 7, said upon arriving at Nishuane Elementary School. “The best way to get to school is by bike because it gives you more exercise. It’s healthier for the Earth,” she added.

    But traveling to school on two wheels isn’t just for fun, according to organizer Jessica Tillyer, whose are 6 and 8 years old. She believes that biking together each week helps promote healthy habits for the children and strengthens the sense of community among parents.

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    “And it really started because a small group of us, about five parents, all wanted to ride to school with our kids and just felt like it wasn’t safe. And for me, I felt kind of lonely riding by myself to school. So, bike bus just took off as a small effort. And now we can have up to 400 people riding together to school,” Tillyer said.

    The bike bus movement isn’t new. Hundreds of them exist throughout the U.S. and Europe, as well as in Australia, Brazil, India, Indonesia and Israel, according to Bike Bus World, a nonprofit organization that promotes and provides information about bike buses.

    Co-founder Sam Balto, who established a bike bus in Portland, Oregon, more than three years ago, said interest has grown so much that he offers free coaching calls to help others launch their own. He estimates there are more than 400 routes worldwide, and the number continues to grow.

    “Children and families are craving community and physical activity and being outdoors. And when you present that versus a school car line, people naturally gravitate to something that’s super joyful and community-driven,” Balto said.

    Organizers hope the bike bus movement will not only get more children on their bikes but also push elected officials in the United States and abroad to invest in safer biking infrastructure.

    While starting a bike bus may not be difficult, keeping it running year-round through different seasons takes more effort. Organizers of successful rides shared advice for parents hoping to create their own.

    Plan and communicate

    Andrew Hawkins, one of the leaders of Montclair Bike Bus, said that once enough families express interest, the first step is to plan a route carefully. That means identifying streets with low traffic while considering how many students can join at the starting point and along the way.

    “It took us a while to come up with a route we were happy with, but we’re still ready to adjust if necessary,” Hawkins said. “Things can change. It could be that new groups of students move into a certain block, or traffic patterns shift, and you have to adapt.”

    The Montclair group started via word of mouth and social media posts. As the number of participants grew, the organizers created a chat group to coordinate and share weekly updates. They also reached out to other families through PTAs, school forums and other parent communication channels.

    One unexpected benefit, several parents said, is the bike bus motivates children to get up and out the door more quickly on Friday mornings.

    “He’s more excited to get out of bed for the bike bus than for the regular bus. So actually, I have an easier time getting him ready for school,” said Gene Gykoff, who rides with his son to the boy’s elementary school.

    To keep momentum going all year, the Montclair Bike Bus team organizes themed rides on weekends and holidays. These events also allow families who can’t join on weekday mornings to experience what the bike bus is all about before committing to a regular schedule.

    Start young and go slow

    Montclair Bike Bus consists of multiple adult-led groups and routes that encompass all of the township’s elementary schools and middle schools. Organizers think the primary grades are when children benefit most from cycling with a group. Students in the first few years of school can learn about riding safely and apply those skills when they bike on their own or in small groups as they get older.

    The Montclair parents found that most elementary school students can handle a distance of 3-5 miles, and the group travels at a speed of around 6 miles per hour so the younger kids can keep up.

    “The slow speed can be tough for some of our older kids who want to go a little bit faster. We tell them there’s no racing on the bike bus — everyone gets to school at the same time. But there have been occasions where we’ve had to split the ride into two groups so that some of the older kids can go a little bit faster than the younger kids,” Hawkins said.

    Be consistent no matter the weather

    Keeping a bike bus going year-round requires consistency, which means preparing to pedal when it’s raining or cold outside, Balto and Hawkins said. Leaders monitor weather forecasts and decide whether to cancel a Friday ride due to unsafe conditions or to proceed as planned while reminding families to dress appropriately.

    “As it gets colder, we tell everyone to make sure they have the right gear — gloves, neck warmers, warm jackets,” Hawkins said. “The idea is that kids should feel comfortable riding all year.”

    The Montclair bike bus secured reflective vests and bike lights from sponsors to increase visibility on dark winter mornings. Leaders also carry basic maintenance tools, such as tire pumps.

    Weather is often more of a concern for adults than it is for children, Balto observed. “Kids want to be outside with their friends,” he said. “If you’re going to do this in all weather, just do it consistently. People will get used to it, and they’ll start joining you.”

    Just do it

    Despite all the planning and coordination involved in running a regular bike bus, experienced organizers say the key is simply to start. It can be as informal as two families riding to school together and sharing a flyer to spread the word, Balto said.

    “If you’re consistent — once a week, once a month, once a season — it will grow,” he said.

    Tillyer said she gives the same advice to anyone who asks how to begin: just go for it.

    “Don’t ask for permission. Don’t worry about what it’s going to take,” she said. “Find a small group of people, get on your bikes and ride to school. Once people experience it and enjoy it, more will want to join.”

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  • Much like a nursing home, penguins at a Boston aquarium can age with dignity

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    BOSTON — When Lambert started losing his vision and slowing down a few steps, it became clear that he needed to be relocated to a place where he could age safely and still be with his friends.

    But he couldn’t be placed in just any nursing home — because he is a critically endangered African penguin. Instead, the New England Aquarium in Boston, where the 33-year-old Lambert was born and has lived his entire life, decided in February to open a geriatric island for him and its six other aging penguins.

    “Honestly, it sort of started off as a joke. It’s like, ‘Oh, well, why don’t we give them an old folks home?’” Eric Fox, associate curator of penguins at the aquarium, said. “But the more we were looking at their welfare data and understanding what ailments they go through, what physical limitations they have, we started to realize that we were on to something.”

    The rocky island near the aquarium entrance is set apart from the rest of the 38-bird colony, ensuring the older penguins don’t have to compete for territory with their often aggressive, younger peers. These penguins, with their trademark black and white feathers, stand about 2 feet (0.6 meters) tall and weigh about as much as a large house cat.

    The enclosure has some flatter topography and a carpeted path down to the water, which allows Lambert and the other penguins to better navigate up and down the island. The aquarium has built a stand in front of the island, which makes it easier for the penguins to hop out of the water.

    As a result, Mia Luzietti, a senior penguin trainer at the aquarium, said she has seen Lambert become more active since moving to the new island — swimming more with his mate and getting off the island more often.

    The concept was inspired by a larger concern that is confronting zoos and aquariums around the world — what to do when their animals are surviving far longer than their counterparts in the wild. In the case of these African penguins, some are in their 30s and one lived into its 40s. That is twice as long as they would live in the wilds of South Africa and Namibia, due to threats like pollution and lack of food from humans’ overfishing.

    “It’s really important that, as we learned how long these animals could live, if given an optimal environment, that we evolved with that,” Luzietti said.

    “So learning on an individual level, how can we best set our animals up for success is really what led to the idea of creating our geriatric island, a place where our oldest penguins have a more comfortable, slower way of life as they live out their days here,” she added.

    Caring for the aging penguins goes far beyond a safer enclosure.

    The older birds get more checkups than their younger counterparts, and veterinarians offer them treatment for ailments that might be familiar to older humans — such as supplements and anti-inflammatory drugs for arthritis and joint pain, and eye drops for glaucoma. There are also more cameras around the island, so staff can better monitor the birds.

    “We are just keeping a little closer of an eye on some of these older birds,” Luzietti said. “It’s important that we’re picking up on those — from how someone’s hips are moving, how they’re walking, how they are acting, if someone’s squinting. The smallest change day to day can be hiding a really big secret.”

    On a recent day, Luzietti was in the geriatric enclosure tending to Lambert — who seemed content to stand at the top of the island with his mate Dyer III, preening one another and occasionally letting out a loud call that sounded like a donkey’s bray. He previously had his left eye removed due to an infection and has glaucoma in his right eye. He also suffers from chronic inflammation.

    Luzietti coaxed him down from his perch, and soon he was sitting on her lap, getting ready for his daily dose of eye drops.

    A crowd had formed around the enclosure to watch, including Terri Blessman, a 69-year-old tourist from Canton, Illinois, who was being pushed in a wheelchair by her friend Lou Ann Delost. Hearing about Lambert’s age and the care he gets, Blessman said she could relate.

    “That’s wonderful,” Blessman said. “All of us older people need extra care as we get older.”

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  • Abu Dhabi hosts oil summit as OPEC+ halts production hikes planned for 2026

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    ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — Abu Dhabi hosted a major oil summit Monday, hours after the OPEC+ group of the cartel and its allies said it would halt further production increases planned in the first quarter of 2026 over concerns of too much supply in the market.

    The OPEC+ decision comes as both the United States and the United Kingdom implemented new oil sanctions targeting Russia over its war on Ukraine. Those sanctions targets included Rosneft and the Russian oil company Lukoil, whose red-and-white logo hung over the annual Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference in the Emirati capital as a major sponsor of the event.

    The UAE has maintained close ties to Russia despite the war, but has served as a key interlocutor between Kyiv and Moscow to negotiate prisoner exchanges.

    On Sunday, OPEC+ met and decided to increase its production by an additional 137,000 barrels of oil beginning in December. However, it said other adjustments planned in January, February and March of next year would be paused “due to seasonality.”

    OPEC+ includes the core members of the cartel, as well as nations outside of the group led by Russia.

    Benchmark Brent crude sold Monday around $65 a barrel, down from a post-COVID high of some $115 a barrel after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. It had fallen to $60 a barrel in recent days over concerns that the market had too much production.

    “Yes, OPEC+ is blinking, but it’s a calculated move,” said Jorge León, the head of geopolitical analysis at Rystad Energy. “Sanctions on Russian producers have injected a new layer of uncertainty into supply forecasts, and the group knows that overproducing now could backfire later. By pausing, OPEC+ is protecting prices, projecting unity, and buying time to see how sanctions play out on Russian barrels.”

    Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration continues to push for more production in America. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, a former Republican governor of North Dakota, was on hand for the Abu Dhabi oil summit on Monday. Burgum chairs Trump’s National Energy Dominance Council. The average price for a gallon of gasoline in the U.S., a key economic and political indicator in the country, stood at $3.03 on Monday.

    The oil conference, known by the acronym ADIPEC, comes after the UAE hosted the United Nations COP28 climate talks in 2023. Those talks ended with a call by nearly 200 countries to move away from planet-warming fossil fuels — the first time the conference made that crucial pledge.

    But the UAE as a whole still plans to increase its production capacity of oil to 5 million barrels a day in the coming years as it pursues more clean energy at home.

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  • Mississippi woman kills escaped monkey fearing for her children’s safety

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    One of the monkeys that escaped last week after a truck overturned on a Mississippi roadway was shot and killed early Sunday by a woman who says she feared for the safety of her children.

    Jessica Bond Ferguson said she was alerted early Sunday by her 16-year-old son who said he thought he had seen a monkey running in the yard outside their home near Heidelberg, Mississippi. She got out bed, grabbed her firearm and her cellphone and stepped outside where she saw the monkey about 60 feet (18 meters) away.

    Bond said she and other residents had been warned about diseases that the escaped monkeys carried so she fired her gun.

    “I did what any other mother would do to protect her children,” Bond, who has five children ranging in age from 4 to 16, told The Associated Press. “I shot at it and it just stood there, and I shot again, and he backed up and that’s when he fell.”

    The Jasper County Sheriff’s Office confirmed in a social media post that a homeowner had found one of the monkeys on their property Sunday morning but said the office didn’t have any details. The Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks took possession of the monkey, the sheriff’s office said.

    The Rhesus monkeys had been housed at the Tulane University National Biomedical Research Center in New Orleans, Louisiana, which routinely provides primates to scientific research organizations, according to the university. In a statement last week, Tulane said the monkeys do not belong to the university, and they were not being transported by the university.

    A truck carrying the monkeys overturned Tuesday on Interstate 59 north of Heidelberg. Authorities have said most of the 21 monkeys were killed. The sheriff’s department has said animal experts from Tulane examined the trailer and had determined three monkeys had escaped.

    The Mississippi Highway Patrol has said it was investigating the cause of the crash, which occurred about 100 miles (160 kilometers) from the state capital, Jackson.

    Rhesus monkeys typically weigh about 16 pounds (7.2 kilograms) and are among the most medically studied animals on the planet. Video recorded after the crash showed monkeys crawling through tall grass beside the interstate, where wooden crates labeled “live animals” were crumpled and strewn about.

    Jasper County Sheriff Randy Johnson had said Tulane officials reported the monkeys were not infectious, despite initial reports by the truck’s occupants warning that the monkeys were dangerous and harboring various diseases. Nonetheless, Johnson said the monkeys still needed to be “neutralized” because of their aggressive nature.

    The monkeys had recently received checkups confirming they were pathogen-free, Tulane said in a statement Wednesday.

    About 10 years ago, three Rhesus macaques in the breeding colony of what was then known as the Tulane National Primate Research Center were euthanized after a “biosecurity breach,” federal inspectors wrote in a 2015 report. The breach involved at least one staff member failing to adhere to biosafety and infection control procedures, it said.

    The facility made changes in its procedures and retrained staff after that happened, according to the report from the U.S. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

    Rhesus macaques “are known to be aggressive,” according to the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks. It said the agency’s conservation workers were working with sheriff’s officials in the search for the animals.

    The search comes about one year after 43 Rhesus macaques escaped from a South Carolina compound that breeds them for medical research because an employee didn’t fully lock an enclosure. Employees from the Alpha Genesis facility in Yemassee, South Carolina, had set up traps to capture them.

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  • Mississippi woman kills escaped monkey fearing for her children’s safety

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    One of the monkeys that escaped last week after a truck overturned on a Mississippi roadway was shot and killed early Sunday by a woman who says she feared for the safety of her children.

    Jessica Bond Ferguson said she was alerted early Sunday by her 16-year-old son who said he thought he had seen a monkey running in the yard outside their home near Heidelberg, Mississippi. She got out bed, grabbed her firearm and her cellphone and stepped outside where she saw the monkey about 60 feet (18 meters) away.

    Bond said she and other residents had been warned about diseases that the escaped monkeys carried so she fired her gun.

    “I did what any other mother would do to protect her children,” Bond, who has five children ranging in age from 4 to 16, told The Associated Press. “I shot at it and it just stood there, and I shot again, and he backed up and that’s when he fell.”

    The Jasper County Sheriff’s Office confirmed in a social media post that a homeowner had found one of the monkeys on their property Sunday morning but said the office didn’t have any details. The Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks took possession of the monkey, the sheriff’s office said.

    The Rhesus monkeys had been housed at the Tulane University National Biomedical Research Center in New Orleans, Louisiana, which routinely provides primates to scientific research organizations, according to the university. In a statement last week, Tulane said the monkeys do not belong to the university, and they were not being transported by the university.

    A truck carrying the monkeys overturned Tuesday on Interstate 59 north of Heidelberg. Authorities have said most of the 21 monkeys were killed. The sheriff’s department has said animal experts from Tulane examined the trailer and had determined three monkeys had escaped.

    The Mississippi Highway Patrol has said it was investigating the cause of the crash, which occurred about 100 miles (160 kilometers) from the state capital, Jackson.

    Rhesus monkeys typically weigh about 16 pounds (7.2 kilograms) and are among the most medically studied animals on the planet. Video recorded after the crash showed monkeys crawling through tall grass beside the interstate, where wooden crates labeled “live animals” were crumpled and strewn about.

    Jasper County Sheriff Randy Johnson had said Tulane officials reported the monkeys were not infectious, despite initial reports by the truck’s occupants warning that the monkeys were dangerous and harboring various diseases. Nonetheless, Johnson said the monkeys still needed to be “neutralized” because of their aggressive nature.

    The monkeys had recently received checkups confirming they were pathogen-free, Tulane said in a statement Wednesday.

    About 10 years ago, three Rhesus macaques in the breeding colony of what was then known as the Tulane National Primate Research Center were euthanized after a “biosecurity breach,” federal inspectors wrote in a 2015 report. The breach involved at least one staff member failing to adhere to biosafety and infection control procedures, it said.

    The facility made changes in its procedures and retrained staff after that happened, according to the report from the U.S. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

    Rhesus macaques “are known to be aggressive,” according to the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks. It said the agency’s conservation workers were working with sheriff’s officials in the search for the animals.

    The search comes about one year after 43 Rhesus macaques escaped from a South Carolina compound that breeds them for medical research because an employee didn’t fully lock an enclosure. Employees from the Alpha Genesis facility in Yemassee, South Carolina, had set up traps to capture them.

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  • Fast chargers are expanding quickly, but American EV drivers still fear running out of juice

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    KENT, Conn. (AP) — For most Americans, there’s less reason than ever to worry about finding chargers to fuel up an electric vehicle. But charging worries remain a top hesitation for potential buyers, second only to sticker shock.

    Those concerns linger even as fast chargers multiply. More than 12,000 have been added within a mile of U.S. highways and interstates just this year, an Associated Press analysis of data from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory shows. That’s about a fifth of quick-charging ports now in operation.

    Yet a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago finds about 4 in 10 of U.S. adults still point to range and charging time as “major” reasons they wouldn’t buy an EV. That’s significant considering only about 2 in 10 Americans say they would be “extremely” or “very” likely to make a new or used electric vehicle their next car purchase.

    That’s a perception Daphne Dixon, leader of a nonprofit that advocates for clean transportation, has been trying to fight. She has taken a coast-to-coast road trip in an EV each year since 2022. Always sporting hot pink and waving a bubblegum checkered race flag to match, Dixon posts snapshots of the charging experience along her 3,000-mile (4,828-kilometer) route, hoping to “bust” Americans’ anxiety about range and charging.

    Dixon said she has repeatedly found that “range anxiety is stuck in people’s heads,” even though the gap in price between gas and electric cars is closing and more chargers are being installed.

    “A lot of people still fear that there’s not enough chargers, but what they’re not seeing is that chargers are being put in every single day,” she said.

    Daphne Dixon stands next to her electric vehicle near a Level 2 EV charger, Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025, in Norwalk, Conn. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)

    Fast chargers expand, but worries remain

    Traveling on Interstate 80, the longest American interstate, a driver will encounter few stretches that are more than 10 miles (16 kilometers) away from a fast charger, all the way from New York City to Des Moines. Out West, coverage is spottier. But the miles on I-80 covered by fast chargers has increased by 44% since 2021, the AP analysis found.

    Drivers would have a similar experience on other major roads. Nearly 70% of the combined length of the 10 longest interstates is within 10 miles of a fast charger — up from about half just five years ago.

    Installing fast chargers is considered critical to supporting EV adoption because they can refill a fully electric vehicle in 20 minutes to an hour. Compare that to home chargers, which often take four to 10 hours.

    Daphne Dixon shows a map she uses to identify where chargers are located for her electric vehicle Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025, in Ridgefield, Conn. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)

    Daphne Dixon shows a map she uses to identify where chargers are located for her electric vehicle Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025, in Ridgefield, Conn. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)

    Daphne Dixon grabs part of a charger for her electric vehicle with a Level 2 EV charger, Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025, in Norwalk, Conn. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)

    Daphne Dixon grabs part of a charger for her electric vehicle with a Level 2 EV charger, Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025, in Norwalk, Conn. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)

    In Dixon’s home state of Connecticut, drivers still fret about charging. In the fall, Dixon takes a shorter trip along Route 7, a scenic drive full of river bends and antiques barns. Fast chargers are scarce along the route, as they still are in many rural parts of the U.S.

    The only plug in Kent, a town about 50 miles (80 kilometers) north of Norwalk, is an aging machine at town hall that’s long been defunct, said Lynn Mellis Worthington, chair of the town’s sustainability team.

    Connecticut’s state government plans to use $1.3 million in federal funds to install eight fast-charging plugs at two stations in New Milford, about 15 miles (24 kilometers) down Route 7 from Kent. The Trump administration sought to cancel those federal funds earlier this year, before reinstating them in August after multiple states sued over the halt of the $5 billion program. Congress had approved the funds in 2021 under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

    Lynn Mellis Worthington poses for a portrait with her hybrid vehicle Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025, in Kent, Conn. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)

    Lynn Mellis Worthington poses for a portrait with her hybrid vehicle Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025, in Kent, Conn. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)

    Mellis Worthington and her husband considered an EV when they replaced their 15-year-old Pontiac Vibe this year. She said prices for cars with enough range to make her husband feel comfortable with his commute were still too high. So despite her high hopes of going full electric, they went with a hybrid instead.

    “Our next car will definitely be an EV,” she said.

    Vehicle price still top barrier for buyers

    While many are concerned about charging, price is still the reason U.S. adults most commonly gave when asked why they would not buy one, the AP-NORC/EPIC poll shows. Only about 2 in 10 U.S. adults said the high cost is “not a reason” for holding off on an EV purchase.

    Electric vehicles held about 8% of the U.S. market share in 2024, up from 1.9% five years prior, according to data from Atlas Public Policy.

    In the long run, owning an EV may be cheaper due to lower maintenance costs and the lower price of electricity compared to fuel in many places, said Daniel Wilkins, a policy analyst at Atlas Public Policy.

    Still, “everyday Americans are focused more on the sticker price upfront,” he said.

    A sign points to a municipal lot with a Level 2 EV charger Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025, in North Canaan, Conn. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)

    A sign points to a municipal lot with a Level 2 EV charger Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025, in North Canaan, Conn. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)

    Daphne Dixon's electric vehicle is plugged into a Level 2 EV charger Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025, in Norwalk, Conn. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)

    Daphne Dixon’s electric vehicle is plugged into a Level 2 EV charger Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025, in Norwalk, Conn. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)

    And with federal incentives expiring at the end of September, the final bill for many prospective buyers has effectively increased by $7,500 for a new EV.

    Electric vehicle advocates are quick to point out the average U.S. resident drives no more than 30 miles (48 kilometers) per day, according to AAA, well within the range modern EVs offer. Most electric vehicle owners, like Bloomfield resident Jim Warner and his wife, do the majority of their charging at home.

    Warner has one EV and one plug-in hybrid vehicle. He’s taken the EV, a Chevy Bolt with a roughly 250-mile (402 kilometer) range per charge, on a 400-mile (643-kilometer) trip to Maine twice since he bought it in 2022.

    “The first trip, I turned the heat off. I made sure I drove 65,” Warner said. “The second time I just drove normally and had no problem.”

    People sit in their electric vehicles while using a Level 3 EV charger Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025, in Ridgefield, Conn. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)

    People sit in their electric vehicles while using a Level 3 EV charger Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025, in Ridgefield, Conn. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)

    ___

    AP polling reporter Linley Sanders in Washington contributed to this report.

    ___

    The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

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  • Black vultures attack, kill cattle. Climate change one reason they’re spreading north

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    EMINENCE, Ky. — Allan Bryant scans the sky as he watches over a minutes-old calf huddled under a tree line with its mother. After a few failed tries, the calf stands on wobbly legs for the first time, looking to nurse.

    Above, a pair of birds circle in the distance. Bryant, hoping they’re not black vultures, is relieved to see they’re only turkey vultures — red-headed and not aggressive.

    “Honestly, the black vulture is one of the ugliest things I’ve ever seen,” he said. “They’re easy to hate.”

    Black vultures, scavengers that sometimes attack and kill sick or newborn animals, didn’t used to be a problem here. But now Bryant frequently sees the birds following a birth. He hasn’t lost a calf in several years, but they’ve killed his animals before. So now he takes measures to stop them.

    In some of his fields, he erects a scarecrow of sorts — a dead black vulture — aimed at scaring off the birds. It’s a requirement of his depredation permit through the Kentucky Farm Bureau, which allows him to shoot a few birds a year. The dead bird keeps the live birds away for about a week, but they eventually come back, he said.

    It’s a problem that may grow worse for cattle farmers as the scavenging birds’ range expands northward, in part due to climate change. Lobbying groups have been pushing for legislation that would allow landowners to kill more of these birds, which are protected but not endangered. But experts say more research is needed to better understand how the birds impact livestock and how their removal could affect ecosystems.

    Black vultures used to mainly live in the southeastern U.S. and farther south in Latin and South America, but over the past century they’ve started to rapidly stretch northward and also west into the desert Southwest, said Andrew Farnsworth, a visiting scientist at Cornell Lab of Ornithology who studies bird migration.

    Warmer winters on average, fueled by climate change, are making it easier for the birds to stay in places that used to be too cold for them. What’s more, the human footprint in suburban and rural areas is enriching their habitat: development means cars, and cars mean roadkill. Cattle farms can also offer a buffet of vulnerable animals for vultures that learn the seasonal calving schedule.

    “If there’s one thing we’ve learned from a lot of different studies of birds, it’s that they are very good at taking advantage of food resources and remembering where those things are,” Farnsworth said.

    Although black vultures are protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, they aren’t really a migratory species, he said. Instead, they breed, and some disperse to new areas and settle there.

    After losing a calf to a black vulture a decade ago, Tom Karr, who raises cattle near Pomeroy, Ohio, tried to move his fall calving season later in the year in hopes the vultures would be gone by then. But that didn’t help — the birds stay all year, he said.

    Until newborn calves are a few days old, “we try to keep them up closer to the barns,” said Joanie Grimes, the owner of a 350-head calf-cow operation in Hillsboro, Ohio. She said they’ve been dealing with the birds for 15 years, but keeping them out of remote fields has helped improve matters.

    Annette Ericksen has noticed the black vultures for several years on her property, Twin Maples Farm in Milton, West Virginia, but they haven’t yet lost any animals to them. When they expect calves and lambs, they move the livestock into a barn, and they also use dogs — Great Pyrenees — trained to patrol the fields and the barnyard for raptors that might hurt the animals.

    The size of their operation makes it easier to account for every animal, but “any loss would be severely detrimental to our small business,” she wrote in an email.

    Local cattlemen’s associations and state farm bureaus often work together to help producers get depredation permits, which allow them to shoot a few birds each year, as long as they keep track of it on paper.

    “The difficulty with that is, if the birds show up, by the time you can get your permit, get all that taken care of, the damage is done,” said Brian Shuter, executive vice president of the Indiana Beef Cattle Association. Farmers said calves can be worth hundreds of dollars or upward of $1,000 or $2,000, depending on the breed.

    In March, lawmakers in Congress introduced a bill that would let farmers capture or kill any black vulture “in order to prevent death, injury, or destruction to livestock.” Many farmers and others in the cattle industry have supported the move, and the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association in July commended the House Natural Resources Committee for advancing the bill.

    Farnsworth, of the Cornell lab, said it’s not necessarily a good thing to make it easier to kill black vultures, which he said fill “a super important role” in cleaning up “dead stuff.”

    Simply killing the birds, Farnsworth said, may make room for more bothersome predators or scavengers. He said though black vultures can leave behind gory damage, current research doesn’t show that they account for an outsize proportion of livestock deaths.

    But many farmers are unwilling to do nothing.

    “They just basically eat them alive,” Karr said. “It is so disgusting.”

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    Follow Melina Walling on X @MelinaWalling and Bluesky @melinawalling.bsky.social. Follow Joshua A. Bickel on Instagram, Bluesky and X @joshuabickel.

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