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Washington lawmakers reach deal on drug policy, avoid automatic decriminalization

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:09:54 GMT

SEATTLE (AP) — Democratic and Republican leaders in the Washington Statehouse reached a tentative deal on a major new drug policy Monday, one that would avoid making the state the second to decriminalize the possession of controlled substances.Lawmakers will consider the compromise Tuesday when they return to Olympia for a special session. Gov. Jay Inslee called them back after they failed to pass a new drug policy before adjourning late last month.Under the deal, intentional possession or public use of small amounts of illegal drugs would be a gross misdemeanor, punishable by up to six months in jail for the first two offenses and up to a year after that.But police and prosecutors would be encouraged to divert cases for treatment or other services, and the measure provides millions of additional dollars for diversion programs and to provide short-term housing for people with substance use disorders. A temporary, 2-year-old law that makes intentional drug possession illegal is due t...

3 people killed, at least 7 injured in New Mexico shooting

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:09:54 GMT

FARMINGTON, N.M. (AP) — Three people were killed and two police officers were among at least seven people injured Monday when an 18-year-old opened fire in a northwestern New Mexico community before law enforcement fatally shot the suspect, authorities said. The shootings occurred around 11 a.m. in Farmington, a city of about 50,000 people near the Navajo Nation that is a supply line and bedroom community to the region’s oil and natural gas industry.Officers responding to several calls about a shooting found “a chaotic scene” where a man was firing at people on a residential street, Farmington Police Deputy Chief Baric Crum said during a news conference. Police confronted the suspect before fatally shooting him. They found three people dead.Crum did not identify the suspect and said he didn’t know the ages of any of the victims. Police were trying to determine why he was in the neighborhood.San Juan Regional Medical Center received seven injured, including a Farmington police office...

Number of migrants fell 50% at US southern border after immigration changes

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:09:54 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of migrants encountered at the southern border fell 50% during the last three days compared with the days leading up to the end of a key pandemic-era regulation, U.S. officials said Monday.But a high number of migrants are still in U.S. custody, although the number has fallen “significantly” since last week, said Blas Nunez-Neto, assistant secretary for border and immigration policy at the Department of Homeland Security.The ability of U.S. Border Patrol to hold migrants has been a key concern as more migrants came to the border in the days leading up to the end of immigration restrictions linked to the pandemic, referred to as Title 42. The administration is facing a lawsuit aimed at curtailing its ability to release migrants from custody even when facilities are over capacity. At one point last week, more than 27,000 migrants were in custody along the border, a number that may top 45,000 by the end of May if the powers to more quickly release migrants ...

House GOP lawmaker readies contempt charge over Afghanistan dissent cable

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:09:54 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Republican chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee is threatening to push forward a legislative effort to hold Secretary of State Antony Blinken in contempt of Congress next week if he does not release a classified cable sent from U.S. diplomats in Kabul shortly before the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan.Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, told reporters Monday that the House Foreign Affairs Committee could vote on the contempt charges at a hearing May 24. The State Department has said it is trying to provide Congress with “appropriate” information on the cable while also protecting its employees. The so-called dissent channel has for decades provided a way for diplomats to discreetly voice concerns about strategy. They are automatically classified to protect the identities of the Foreign Service officers.McCaul has battled with the Biden administration for months over gaining unprecedented access to the messages as part of a larger Republican inquiry int...

At 81, Martha Stewart becomes oldest Sports Illustrated swimsuit cover model

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:09:54 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — At 81, Martha Stewart isn’t slowing down and some might say she’s heating up. Stewart has been chosen as one of Sports Illustrated’s swimsuit cover models, the magazine announced Monday.She’s the oldest model to grace the cover of the annual swimsuit issue, surpassing Maye Musk who posed for the special issue in 2022 at 74.The businesswoman and media personality wrote in an Instagram post Monday that she hopes the cover inspires people “to try new things, no matter what stage of life you’re in.” She also posted a video clip from an interview on her podcast with MJ Day, SI Swimsuit editor in chief. The video showed a series of images of Stewart from a photo shoot in the Dominican Republic, including one of her emerging from water in a blue swimsuit wearing sunglasses. “They were pouring water over my head,” Stewart said during the podcast. Stewart founded Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia in the 1990s and became synonymous with cookin...

Fort St. John, B.C., tells all 21,000 residents to prepare to evacuate as fire nears

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:09:54 GMT

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — The City of Fort St. John in northeastern British Columbia has issued an evacuation alert telling all of its approximately 21,000 residents to get ready to leave in response to a wildfire that’s grown to more than 130 square kilometres in size.An update from the BC Wildfire Service this afternoon says the Stoddart Creek wildfire is burning out of control and continuing to spread.The blaze, which the service says is suspected to be human-caused, has previously triggered alerts and evacuation orders for other properties in its path in the Peace River Regional District since it was discovered on Saturday.It has scorched the traditional territories of the Blueberry River First Nations, Doig River First Nation and Halfway River First Nations.Fort St. John’s evacuation alert says all residents need to prepare to leave on short notice because of the fire’s potential danger to life and health.The wildfire service lists the Stoddart Creek blaze as one ...

5 plead guilty in fake nursing diploma scheme in Florida

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:09:54 GMT

MIAMI (AP) — Five people have pleaded guilty in South Florida to participating in a wire fraud scheme that created an illegal shortcut for aspiring nurses to get licensed and find employment.Krystal Lopez and Damian Lopez, both of Palm Beach County, Florida; Francois Legagneur, of Nassau County, New York; Reynoso Seide, of Union County, N ew Jersey; and Yelva Saint Preux, of Suffolk County, N.Y.; pleaded guilty last Wednesday in Miami federal court to wire fraud conspiracy. They each face up to 20 years in prison at a July 27 hearing.A total of 25 people were charged earlier this year in a scam that sold more than 7,600 fraudulent nursing degree diplomas from three Florida-based nursing schools, according to grand jury indictments. The schools involved — Siena College, Palm Beach School of Nursing and Sacred Heart International Institute — are now closed.During guilty plea hearings, Damian Lopez, Legagneur, Seide and Saint Preux admitted to soliciting and recruiting people who sough...

Detectives charged with stealing costly Champagne at Electric Zoo music festival in NYC

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:09:54 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Two New York City police detectives have been charged with swiping pricey Champagne while on duty at an electronic music festival, and a third detective did nothing to stop them, prosecutors said Monday in announcing indictments of all three officers.Detectives Wojciech Czech and Warren Golden were arraigned Monday and suspended from their jobs. Czech pleaded not guilty to felony charges of grand larceny and criminal possession of stolen property; Golden pleaded not guilty to official misconduct, a misdemeanor. Both were released without bail. A third detective, Jonathan Gonzalez, is due to be arraigned on all three charges later in the week.“Detective Czech is shocked and saddened by the criminal charges,” said his lawyer, Oliver Storch, adding that his client is a 10-year law enforcement veteran who “loves being in the business of protecting and saving lives.” Gonzalez’s attorney, Peter E. Brill, said he believed the charges “come from a misunderstanding of the fac...

Swarm of bees close Los Angeles-area streets; injuries reported

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:09:54 GMT

LOS ANGELES (KTLA) - Crashes and investigations often lead to road closures, but it's not every day a swarm of bees is to blame. Authorities were called to an Encino neighborhood around 4:15 p.m. Monday evening for a bee sting, the Los Angles Fire Department said. When fire crews arrived, they were met with a massive swarm of bees, prompting multiple roads in the area to be closed. Nexstar's KTLA captured video of a man appearing to be stung by a swarm of bees that shut down a residential neighborhood in Encino on May 15, 2023. (KTLA)Thousands of bees were seen in the area and residents were urged to stay inside and wait for the arrival of animal control personnel. Video from Nexstar's KTLA showed one person, believed to be an officer or security guard, being attacked by what appeared to be a swarm of bees. The condition of the person who was originally stung is unclear, but they were transported to the hospital.Bee and wasp stings can cause major health complications and even death...

Almanac for May 16, 2023

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:09:54 GMT

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