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Leaders in creation of Arctic vault that protects millions of seeds win World Food Prize

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Leaders in creation of Arctic vault that protects millions of seeds win World Food Prize
  • Cary Fowler and Geoffrey Hawtin, two men who led the effort to create the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, will receive the 2024 World Food Prize.
  • The vault opened in 2008 and now holds 1.25 million seed samples from almost every country in the world.
  • Fowler and Hawtin hope their selection as World Food Prize laureates will enable them push for additional funding of seed bank endowments around the world.

Two men who were instrumental in the “craziest idea anyone ever had” of creating a global seed vault designed to safeguard the world’s agricultural diversity will be honored as the 2024 World Food Prize laureates, officials announced Thursday in Washington.

Cary Fowler, the U.S. special envoy for Global Food Security, and Geoffrey Hawtin, an agricultural scientist from the United Kingdom and executive board member at the Global Crop Diversity Trust, will be awarded the annual prize this fall in Des Moines, Iowa, where the food prize foundation is based. They will split a $500,000 award.

The winners of the prize were named at the State Department, where Secretary of State Antony Blinken lauded the men for their “critical work to advance global crop biodiversity and conserve over 6,000 varieties of crops and culturally important plants, which has had a direct impact in addressing hunger around the world.”

SECOND ARCTIC ‘DOOMSDAY’ VAULT WILL STORE THE WORLD’S DATA

Fowler and Hawtin were leaders in an effort starting in 2004 to build a back-up vault of the world’s crop seeds at a spot where it could be safe from political upheaval and environmental changes. A location was chosen on a Norwegian island in the Arctic Circle where temperatures could ensure seeds could be kept safe in a facility built into the side of a mountain.

The Svalbard Global Seed Vault opened in 2008 and now holds 1.25 million seed samples from nearly every country in the world.

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Fowler, who first proposed establishing the seed vault in Norway, said his idea initially was met by puzzlement by the leaders of seed banks in some countries.

Cary Fowler, left, and Geoffrey Hawtin are shown on Feb. 24, 2014, at the Svalbard Global Seed Vault in Norway. (World Food Prize Foundation via AP)

“To a lot of people today, it sounds like a perfectly reasonable thing to do. It’s a valuable natural resource and you want to offer robust protection for it,” he said in an interview from Saudi Arabia. “Fifteen years ago, shipping a lot of seeds to the closest place to the North Pole that you can fly into, putting them inside a mountain — that’s the craziest idea anybody ever had.”

Hundreds of smaller seed banks have existed in other countries for many decades, but Fowler said he was motivated by a concern that climate change would throw agriculture into turmoil, making a plentiful seed supply even more essential.

Hawtin said that there were plenty of existing crop threats, such as insects, diseases and land degradation, but that climate change heightened the need for a secure, backup seed vault. In part, that’s because climate change has the potential of making those earlier problems even worse.

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“You end up with an entirely new spectrum of pests and diseases under different climate regimes,” Hawtin said in an interview from southwest England. “Climate change is putting a whole lot of extra problems on what has always been significant ones.”

Fowler and Hawtin said they hope their selection as World Food Prize laureates will enable them push for hundreds of millions of dollars in additional funding of seed bank endowments around the world. Maintaining those operations is relatively cheap, especially when considering how essential they are to ensuring a plentiful food supply, but the funding needs continue forever.

“This is really a chance to get that message out and say, look, this relatively small amount of money is our insurance policy, our insurance policy that we’re going to be able to feed the world in 50 years,” Hawtin said.

The World Food Prize was founded by Norman Borlaug, who received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970 for his part in the Green Revolution, which dramatically increased crop yields and reduced the threat of starvation in many countries. The food prize will be awarded at the annual Norman E. Borlaug International Dialogue, held Oct. 29-31 in Des Moines.

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Midwest

Ohio surgeon allegedly forced abortion pills into sleeping girlfriend’s mouth after learning of pregnancy

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Ohio surgeon allegedly forced abortion pills into sleeping girlfriend’s mouth after learning of pregnancy

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An Ohio surgeon has been indicted for allegedly crushing abortion pills and placing them in his pregnant girlfriend’s mouth as she slept, resulting in the suspension of his medical license ahead of a hearing. 

Hassan-James Abbas, a 32-year-old surgical resident at the University of Toledo, allegedly administered the drugs in secret.

On Dec. 3, a Lucas County grand jury indicted him on six felony charges, including abduction, tampering with evidence, unlawful distribution of an abortion-inducing drug, disrupting public services, identity fraud and deception to obtain a dangerous drug, according to court documents.

MEDICAL GROUPS URGE KENNEDY, FDA TO REEXAMINE BROAD APPROVAL OF ABORTION DRUGS

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Hassan-James Abbas, a 32-year-old surgical resident at the University of Toledo, allegedly forced abortion pills down the mouth of his pregnant girlfriend.  (Google Maps; University of Toledo)

Hassan began a romantic relationship with the unnamed woman in 2024 after he separated from his wife, a notice of opportunity for hearing and summary suspension provided to Fox News Digital states.

On Dec. 7, 2024, when the woman — referred to as “Patient 1” — told Abbas she was pregnant, he told her he wanted her to get an abortion.

When the woman said she did not want one, Abbas allegedly ordered the abortion drugs mifepristone and misoprostol using his estranged wife’s identity without her knowledge. He later allegedly crushed the pills and attempted to force them into the woman’s mouth.

“Patient 1 woke up at 4:00 a.m. and saw that you were awake. She fell back asleep and then awoke to you physically on top of her,” the notice states. “She thought it was a hug, but then, holding her down, you took your fingers and forced a crushed powder inside her bottom lip, beside her gums. You continued to hold Patient 1 down.”

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The woman left and called 911, but Abbas allegedly took her phone. She went to a hospital, where she was told the medication had ended the pregnancy.

MAJOR PRO-LIFE GROUP DEMANDS INVESTIGATION INTO ABORTION PILL BILLBOARDS IN FLORIDA

Boxes of the drug mifepristone sit on a shelf at the West Alabama Women’s Center in Tuscaloosa, Ala. (AP Photo/Allen G. Breed)

Fox News Digital has reached out to Abbas’ attorney. 

The University of Toledo said Abbas was placed on administrative leave after his medical license was suspended in November. 

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In a statement to Fox News Digital, the State Medical Board of Ohio said it issued the notice of opportunity for hearing and summary suspension to Abbas Nov. 5.

“The matter under investigation by the state is unrelated to his role at UToledo,” a spokesperson told Fox News Digital. “UToledo holds its employees to the highest standards of professional conduct and will cooperate with the state medical board’s investigative processes.

“A summary suspension suspends a license to practice prior to a hearing,” the statement said. “The suspension must be based on clear and convincing evidence that continued practice by the licensee poses a danger of immediate and serious harm to the public.”

The woman’s attorney told Fox News Digital that the case was one of the most “heinous” she’s been involved in. Kelle Saull said the University of Toledo and ProMedica, where he accepted a fellowship, knew about the allegations and did nothing.

“Additionally, the Lucas County Prosecutor’s Office has had this case under review for the better part of a year,” Saull said in a statement. “It wasn’t until the Ohio Medical Board took (immediate) action that my client finally started to get the results she deserves.”

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A hearing on the matter is scheduled for May 14-15, 2026, the board said.

“After the hearing, the Hearing Examiner will prepare a Report & Recommendation (R&R) that includes the basis for the hearing, the findings of fact, conclusions of law and a proposed disciplinary sanction for consideration by the Board members,” it said.

The notice said Abbas cannot practice medicine or perform surgeries and must refer his patients to other doctors. In addition, the medical board determined his continued practice of medicine presents a “danger of immediate and serious harm to the public.”

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Detroit, MI

Detroit-area teen charged in carjacking at Applebee’s restaurant bound over to circuit court

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Detroit-area teen charged in carjacking at Applebee’s restaurant bound over to circuit court



A 15-year-old boy who is accused of carjacking a woman last month at an Applebee’s in Roseville, Michigan, is heading to circuit court after waiving his preliminary examination, according to the Macomb County Prosecutor’s Office.

The teen is charged with one count of carjacking, third-degree fleeing a police officer, two counts of malicious destruction of personal property, assault with a dangerous weapon, assaulting/resisting/obstructing a police officer, operating without a license and failure to stop after a collision.

The teen appeared for a probable cause hearing on Dec. 10 and waived his right to a preliminary examination. He will be arraigned on Jan. 5, 2026. 

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He remains in at the Macomb County Juvenile Center under a $250,000 cash/surety bond. If he posts bond, he is ordered to wear a GPS tether, be restricted to his mother’s house and have no contact with the victim, witnesses or Applebee’s.

Prosecutors allege that on Nov. 24, 2025, the teen forcibly took a woman’s 2016 Jeep Patriot in the restaurant’s parking lot. The teen took off in the vehicle and crashed it on Gratiot Avenue.

“The allegations and charges in this matter are serious. Carjacking is a violent offense that carries life-altering consequences for victims and offenders alike,” Macomb County Prosecutor Peter Lucido said in a statement. “To the young people of Macomb County, understand that the choices you make today will determine the path available to you tomorrow. We want every youth in this community to succeed, but that starts with stepping away from dangerous decisions before they lead to irreversible outcomes.”  



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Milwaukee, WI

Admirals lose to IceHogs, comeback bid falls short in Rockford

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Admirals lose to IceHogs, comeback bid falls short in Rockford


Goalie Laurent Brossoit stopped 33 shots – and scored a goal – to lead the Rockford IceHogs to a 5-3 win over the Milwaukee Admirals on Friday.

The loss extended the Admirals losing streak to four games.

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By the numbers:

With goalie Matt Murray pulled, the Admirals dumped the puck into the IceHogs zone from the red line. Brossoit tracked it down behind his goal and sailed a shot into the empty Milwaukee cage at 18:56 of the final frame.

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The teams waited until the second period to start scoring goals. IceHogs forward Nick Lardis started the scoring with a shorthanded goal at 1:18 of the second frame. He sent a wrist shot from the slot into the net just as Milwaukee had two players leave the penalty box.

Just 0:33 later, Rockford’s Brett Seney exited the penalty box and grabbed a loose puck at the Admirals blue line. He moved to the right circle and sent a shot over the glove of Admirals goalie Matt Murray at 1:51.

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Milwaukee got on the board with a power-play goal at 4:56 of the second frame. Oasiz Wiesblatt skated with the puck from the left point to the right circle and slid a pass to the crease. Daniel Carr redirected the puck past IceHogs goalie Brossoit for his team-leading tenth goal of the season, and seventh on the power play. Wiesblatt and Joakim Kemell assisted.

Rockford scored two more before the close of the second period. Martin Misiak scored his first pro goal at 15:39 and Jamie Engelbert added a 4-on-4 goal at 18:45 to give the IceHogs a 4-1 lead after two frames.

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The Admirals cut the deficit to 4-2 when Jake Lucchini scored his sixth goal of the season at 11:21 of the third period. Lucchini slammed a rebound of a Jordan Oesterle shot into the net. Cole O’Hara and Oesterle were awarded assists.

The Ads got within one just :36 later when O’Hara shot a blocked puck into the net from the right circle. Oesterle and Ryan Ufko assisted on the goal at 11:57 of the third period.

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Milwaukee returns to UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena to host the Chicago Wolves on Saturday, Dec. 13.

The Source: The Milwaukee Admirals provided this report.

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