Forest and park service worker cuts leave wildland firefighting crews short-staffed
SEATTLE (AP) — Trump administration funding cuts and a loss of federal workers who help support wildland firefighting continues to make planning for the upcoming wildfire season a challenge, according to forest and fire officials in Washington state and Oregon.
The biggest issue they're facing is a lack of communication from the federal government as the West faces 'a pretty significant wildland fire season,' Washington State Forester George Geissler said Thursday during a press conference hosted by Democratic Sens. Patty Murray of Washington and Jeff Merkley of Oregon.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Global News
an hour ago
- Global News
Canada invites Saudi Arabia's Mohammed bin Salman to G7 summit: sources
Canada has invited Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to the upcoming G7 Leaders' Summit in Alberta, Global News has learned. It is not yet known if bin Salman has accepted the invitation. He did not attend last year's G7 summit in Italy despite being invited there as well. Canada's invitation marks the third time in recent days that Prime Minister Mark Carney and his government has reached out to leaders of countries whose relationships with Canada have been strained. Leaders from the world's largest economies are set to gather in Kananaskis for three days of talks that begin Sunday. It is common practice for host countries to invite other world leaders to the annual summit to discuss pressing global issues. Saudi Arabia is seen as a key player in Middle East diplomacy. It has been supportive of efforts to secure a ceasefire in Gaza, where Israel continues to conduct a military offensive against Hamas that has created a humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian territory. Story continues below advertisement The kingdom has also hosted talks involving the United States on finding an end to Russia's war in Ukraine, a conflict that is expected to be among the major topics at the summit. Yet Saudi Arabia's human rights record has been criticized by Canada and independent advocacy groups, despite bin Salman's stated efforts to improve women's rights. 5:26 Controversy over Saudi Arabia hosting 2034 FIFA World Cup The country recalled its ambassador from Ottawa and expelled Canada's envoy in 2018 after Global Affairs Canada called on Saudi Arabia to 'immediately release' detained women's rights and democracy activists. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy That diplomatic spat began months before the murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi at a Saudi consulate in Turkey. Saudi Arabia has denied findings by U.S. intelligence agencies that bin Salman had approved his killing. Canada sanctioned over a dozen Saudi nationals linked to Khashoggi's murder. Story continues below advertisement Canada and Saudi Arabia began thawing relations in 2023 by welcoming new ambassadors to each other's capitals. Saudi Arabia's national airline also resumed flights to Canada after a five-year suspension. Before the diplomatic spat, the Liberal government had temporarily paused arm sales to Saudi Arabia over reports the country's Canadian-made light armoured vehicles were being used in a bloody conflict in Yemen. Bin Salman attended several events during U.S. President Donald Trump's tour of the Middle East last month. Trump gushed over the crown prince during that trip, calling him 'my friend' and praising his efforts to modernize the country. 1:58 Trump prioritizing foreign investment in Gulf states tour Carney personally invited Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the G7 summit last week, which Modi has accepted. The move has angered Sikh nationals in Canada — including within Carney's Liberal caucus — who point to allegations that Modi's government was involved in the murder of a Sikh activist leader in British Columbia in 2023. Story continues below advertisement The RCMP is continuing to investigate what it has said are reports of intimidation and violence against Sikhs by Indian agents on Canadian soil. Carney defended the invitation of Modi on Friday and avoided saying whether he believes Modi was involved in the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, referring to the ongoing 'legal process.' Carney also spoke last week with Chinese Premier Li Qiang, with the Prime Minister's Office saying the two leaders agreed to regularize channels of communication between Ottawa and Beijing, despite ongoing disputes over trade and human rights. No officials from China are expected to attend next week's G7 summit. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum confirmed on Monday she had accepted an invitation to attend the summit. It will mark the first time the leaders of Canada, Mexico and the U.S. are together since Trump launched a multi-front trade war over the flow of fentanyl and the North American auto sector. Negotiations over the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement on free trade (CUSMA) are expected to begin next year, but Trump's tariffs have led Canada to seek a bilateral economic and security agreement with the U.S. Multiple premiers have also called on Mexico to be written out of any future free trade agreement. Story continues below advertisement —With files from the Canadian Press
Winnipeg Free Press
an hour ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Mexican police kill 4 gunmen, cross into Guatemala in dramatic border shootout
TAPACHULA, Mexico (AP) — Mexican state police killed four gunmen near the border with Guatemala, then pursued more suspects into that country in three armored police vehicles, where they engaged in a shootout in the streets of a border town. Authorities in both countries said Monday they were investigating. The rare case of Mexican law enforcement crossing the border into Guatemala on Sunday in La Mesilla was captured by onlookers in videos widely circulated online. With the border crossing a short distance in the background, armed men in ballistic vests and carrying rifles can be seen shouting at the open driver side door of a Chiapas state police armored vehicle. Suddenly, another such vehicle comes speeding through the border crossing from behind scattering the armed men. The initial vehicle reverses back toward Mexico and a third armored police vehicle enters from a side street slamming a civilian vehicle into the side of the other armored police truck. Gunfire erupts with the police trucks and civilian vehicles getting hit by bullets. All the while, a Guatemalan military truck with a soldier in the turret, sits in the middle of the melee. It was the latest flare-up of violence along a section of the border that has become a flashpoint as rival Mexican drug cartels and their local affiliates battle for control of valuable smuggling routes for migrants, guns and drugs. Asked about the events, Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum said Monday that everything appeared to show that Mexican authorities entered Guatemala. 'They are investigating it and it is not all right that has happened,' she said. Chiapas state Gov. Eduardo Ramírez Aguilar criticized what he suggested were Guatemalan authorities protecting members of organized crime. His security chief, Oscar Aparicio Avendaño, told The Associated Press on Monday that police had used a drone to detect armed men crossing the border into Mexico. Police intercepted them, killing four, including a local gang leader. 'They try to cross (back to Guatemala) to evade justice and that's where we intercept them and there's the shooting,' Ramírez said. The police involved were part of a state police force called the Pakales, which have also been accused of wrongdoing. Across the border in Guatemala, authorities were cautious in their initial response. Guatemala Vice President Karin Herrera said Monday that the Guatemalan government was talking to Mexican authorities about what happened, 'but there are many things that must be confirmed.' Guatemala Defense Minister Henry Sáenz said none of the Guatemalan soldiers present in La Mesilla fired their weapons and that it remained under investigation. The stretch of the Mexico-Guatemala border has seen near continuous violence in the past two years as the Sinaloa and Jalisco New Generation cartels battle for control. Last year, the violence spurred hundreds of Mexican residents to flee into Guatemala for safety. At other moments, towns have seen their power cut and cartel convoys parade through their communities. ___ Associated Press writers Sara Melini in Guatemala City and Fabiola Sánchez in Mexico City contributed to this report.
Winnipeg Free Press
an hour ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
RFK Jr. ousts entire CDC vaccine advisory committee
WASHINGTON (AP) — Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Monday removed every member of a scientific committee that advises the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on how to use vaccines and pledged to replace them with his own picks. The 17-member Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices had been in a state of flux since Kennedy took over. Its first meeting this year had been delayed when the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services abruptly postponed its February meeting. Kennedy, who was one of the nation's leading anti-vaccine activists before becoming the nation's top health official, recently took the unusual step of changing COVID-19 recommendations without first consulting the panel. Kennedy, in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece, said the committee members had too many conflicts of interest. Committee members routinely disclose any possible conflicts at the start of public meetings. Wednesdays Columnist Jen Zoratti looks at what's next in arts, life and pop culture. ___ The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
