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SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — An invasive plant from central Asia and southern Russia is sucking wetlands in northern New Mexico dry and officials in the area want to see the tree gone. Officials from the Santa Fe Botanical Garden recently removed 6.5 acres (.02 square kilometers) of Russian olive trees from the Leonora Curtin Wetland Preserve as part of a long-term preservation effort, the Santa Fe New Mexican reported . "Our biggest intent with tackling the Russian olive is to keep the ciénega (wetlands) wet," said Botanical Garden Director of Hortic...
MILWAUKEE (AP) — A billboard along a northern Wisconsin highway was a dramatic gesture to try to find a long-sought kidney donor for Terrence Rice. The 36-year-old from Marinette had faced failing kidney function for years. Three days a week, for more than three years, he spent hours at a clinic for kidney dialysis. "I was always tired and worn out," Rice told the USA Today Network-Wisconsin . "I couldn't work full-time anymore and sporting events for my kids, I had a hard time taking them ... because I'd be too tired." Divorced with two childr...
MAJURO, Marshall Islands (AP) — The tiny Marshall Islands is creating its own digital currency in order to raise some hard cash to pay bills and boost the economy. The Pacific island nation said it became the first country in the world to recognize a cryptocurrency as its legal tender when it passed a law this past week to create the digital "Sovereign," or SOV. In the nation of 60,000, the cryptocurrency will have equal status with the U.S. dollar as a form of payment. Venezuela last month became the first country to launch its own c...
NAPLES, Fla. (AP) — Researchers studying invasive Burmese pythons in Florida came upon something they'd never seen before: an 11-foot-long python had consumed an entire deer that weighed more than the snake itself. The wildlife biologists tracking the slithery creatures stumbled upon bloated snake in Collier Seminole State Park, and when they moved the creature it began regurgitating a white-tailed deer fawn. Biologist Ian Bartoszek told the Naples Daily News that the fawn weighed 35 pounds; the snake 31.5. "We were sitting there just trying t...
KEY WEST, Fla. (AP) — A Florida retiree has won the women's division in Key West's annual Conch Shell Blowing Contest — and accepted a marriage proposal from a fellow competitor. Seventy-year-old Mary Lou Smith impressed the judges Saturday with long blasts on the fluted, pink-lined shell. And when 73-year-old Rick Race proposed on stage, she accepted by joining him in a joyous duet. Other winners included Florida Keys resident Vinnie Marturano, who won the men's division after blowing three-toned blasts and a song fragment. Judges eva...
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has endorsed Democratic state Sen. Laura Kelly in the Kansas governor's race. Kelly touted the backing of Sebelius as the Kansas Democratic Party began an annual two-day convention Friday in Kelly's hometown of Topeka. Sebelius served as Kansas governor from 2003 until she became former President Barack Obama's HHS secretary in April 2009. She remains influential in Democratic Party circles. Kelly is part of an already crowded race for the Democratic n...
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Legislation aimed at protecting free speech on Kansas college campuses is facing mixed reviews amid a nationwide debate over how to balance free speech with the schools' desire to protect against disruptions and make all students feel safe and welcome. The bill, which won Senate committee approval last month and awaits a full Senate vote, would eliminate campus "free-speech zones" designated for speakers and demonstrations, require that university speech codes not limit student speech and prevent universities from d...
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas legislative committee is preparing to vote on a bill designed to ensure that fugitives and domestic abusers who illegally have guns are prosecuted. The Senate Federal and State Affairs Committee is scheduled to take up the bill Monday. The measure passed the House last month. The bill would make it illegal under state law for fugitives or people who've been convicted of domestic violence within the past five years to possess a gun. The ban also would apply to immigrants living in the U.S. illegally and people who a...
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Gun store owners called it the "Trump slump." Sales of firearms slowed dramatically after the election of Donald Trump as president in 2016 allayed fears of a Democratic crackdown on gun owners. That trend has continued in recent weeks even with talk of gun control in Congress and among business leaders following the Feb. 14 massacre of 17 people at a Florida high school. In the past, gun massacres generally led to an uptick in sales as people worried about the government restricting access. But with Parkland, things a...
NEW YORK (AP) — In 1960, black students staged sit-ins that forced Woolworth's to desegregate its lunch counters, and other stores and restaurants followed suit. In 1986, General Motors, Coca-Cola and dozens of other U.S. corporations pulled out of apartheid-era South Africa after years of pressure from activists, college students and investors. This week, four major retailers slapped restrictions on gun sales that are stronger than federal law. Those are all rare examples of American companies getting out ahead of the politicians and the l...
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan legislators and the governor's office are roiling over two gun-control measures: arming trained teachers and removing guns from individuals with mental health symptoms. State capitols across America are revisiting gun legislation after the deadliest U.S. school shooting in the last five years ripped through Parkland, Florida. In Lansing, one bill under development would permit teachers and staff to carry firearms inside schools, an idea seeing national resurgence since President Donald Trump floated support in t...
BEIJING (AP) — China's defense budget will rise 8 percent to 1.1 trillion yuan ($173 billion) this year as the country is preparing to launch its second aircraft carrier, integrating stealth fighters into its air force and fielding an array of advanced missiles able to attack air and sea targets at vast distances. The figure released in a report Monday to the ceremonial National People's Congress is an increase from last year, when finance ministry officials told the Associated Press the budget was rising 7 percent to 1.044 trillion yuan ($151...
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Companies that distribute drugs are pushing back on stricter regulation in Ohio, protesting what they call a patchwork approach that could lead to confusion and uncertainty, records show. The state pharmacy board should wait for new federal regulations before enacting state rules, including some that could violate federal law, the companies say in documents obtained by The Associated Press through a records request. "A 'patchwork' system of differing regulations between and among states and the federal government will o...
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on President Donald Trump and trade (all times local): 7:30 p.m. Facing criticism from allies overseas and members of his own party, President Donald Trump is signaling he is not backing down from his plan to place tariffs on imports of aluminum and steel. Trump tweets Sunday night that the American "steel and aluminum industries are dead. Sorry, it's time for a change!" Trump is readying to place tariffs of 25 percent and 10 percent on steel and aluminum imports, respectively. The protectionist move fulfills a c...
BOSTON (AP) — U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren is hoping to defuse an issue that has dogged her for years, her claims of Native American heritage, ahead of a possible run for president in 2020. Last month, Warren addressed the National Congress of American Indians, trying to cast her family's story in the larger context of challenges facing native peoples. The prominent Democrat has also met with tribal leaders, signed on to legislation supported by Native American activists, and called on Republican President Donald Trump to nominate a director f...
NEW BRAUNFELS, Texas (AP) — George P. Bush's campaign flyers in Texas declare that he's "standing beside our president" — the one who called his dad, Jeb, an embarrassment to his family and a pathetic person. At a political forum outside San Antonio, another Republican candidate brags about his "bigly" wins over Democrats. Another hopeful in Houston, just days after a mass shooting at a Florida high school killed 17 people, sent voters a photo of herself holding an assault rifle — below the words "Kathaleen Wall stands with Trump." Texas holds...
BALTIMORE (AP) — Mary Kay Malinoski has seen plenty of harmful insects swarm into Maryland during her long career, from the tree-eating gypsy moth, which invaded in the 1980s, to the malodorous brown marmorated stink bug, which arrived in 2006. But Malinoski, a veteran entomologist with the University of Maryland's agricultural extension program, has never seen anything like the spotted lanternfly, a leaf-hopping pest that recently overran southeastern Pennsylvania — and that is poised to invade Maryland for the first time this spring. The spe...
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Once Erika Thompson got a peek into the world of bees, she was hooked. "They're fascinating. Every time I get in a hive, I learn something new," said Thompson, a beekeeper who has made it her mission to educate the public about the tiny winged wonders. "And as a superorganism that's constantly changing, every hive is different, every time I get in it, and I never know what I'm going to find. It's exciting." The Austin American-Statesman reports the chilly winter has prevented her from visiting the hives in recent weeks, a...
SEMINOLE– Oklahoma Baptist battled to a 5-4 win over Seminole State in a lengthy match Saturday that saw four singles matches go three sets. OBU trailed 2-1 after doubles play with Luis Romero and Babji Atturu getting the lone win. The Bison won four hard-fought singles matches in slots three through six. Gianlucca Galdi's match seemed headed to a third set before Seminole State's Prince Gbadamosi had to withdraw. Romero won at No. 4, Matias Le Fort at No. 5 and Atturu at No. 6 to claim the win. OBU, now 3-2, heads to Midwestern State Friday f...
SEMINOLE – Oklahoma Baptist won its fourth consecutive match, downing Seminole State 8-1 Saturday. OBU swept the doubles matches with Kim Moosbacher and Kateryna Shkot winning at No. 1, Tahlia Walshand Madeleine Boepple taking No. 2 and Alex Bowers and Caroline Abbe winning at No. 3. The Lady Bison won slots one through five in singles. Moosbacher at No. 1 and Shkot at No. 2 both won in three sets while Bowers, Boepple and Abbe all won in straight sets. The 5-1 Lady Bison play at Central Oklahoma Tuesday at 2 p.m....
BARTLESVILLE, Ark. — Down 49-41 with 7:52 to play, No. 10 Southern Nazarene felt the most tension it had all year. SNU responded with a 21-8 run to close the game and secure the schools first Great American Conference Championship title in school history with a 62-57 win over Arkansas-Monticello Saturday. The Crimson Storm (27-2) trailed nearly all of the first half and nearly all of the second half until Coleman Edwardshit a trey that sparked the final run in the last eight minutes. The win was the 200th in the 10-year career of Head Coach A...
BARTLESVILLE, Okla. - Cheyenne North turned in a career-high 35 points to carry Arkansas Tech into its fifth tournament finals appearance in Great American Conference history, as the Suns defeated Henderson State 78-67 on Saturday night. NEXT UP • Arkansas Tech (25-3) advances to the GAC finals on Sunday, where the Suns will face Harding. The conference tournament championship is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. HOW IT HAPPENED • North netted her first five shots of the game, including two triples, to score 13 of Tech's first 19 points. • Arkan...
CONWAY, Ark. – The Ouachita Tigers softball team laced out 22 hits over two games to sweep Arkansas Tech 7-4 and 8-6 on Saturday afternoon. Arkansas Tech (13-5, 4-2 GAC) came into Saturday's contest as one of two Great American Conference Teams undefeated in conference play. By the end of the afternoon, it was Ouachita (9-4, 5-1 GAC) that was on top of the conference standings. If the Tigers sweep the Golden Suns on Sunday afternoon, Ouachita would share the top spot in the conference with Southern Arkansas. Sarah Johnson (Mount Vernon, T...
DURANT, Okla. – Northwestern Oklahoma State baseball suffered a pair of setbacks Saturday as they were swept on the road by Southeastern Oklahoma State. The Rangers dropped the first game of the day 8-3 in nine innings before the Savage Storm rallied for five runs in the 4th inning to steal game two 7-6. Right fielder Judah Zickafoose had a career day at the plate, going 5-for-7 with three home runs and five RBI's to go along with a stolen base. Game 1 Redshirt junior Cole Jackson made the start for Ryan Bowen's squad, but the right-hander l...
