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B.C. health officer urges patience on drug crisis; delegates to vote on resolutions

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:47:52 GMT

VANCOUVER — Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry is urging patience from British Columbia’s municipal leaders on drug decriminalization, saying more arrests won’t address the complex issues of addiction. However, Henry said she agrees that public drug use should not be accepted in areas when children are present.Henry told politicians at the Union of B.C. Municipalities convention on Monday that B.C’s drug decriminalization pilot program is “not perfect,” but statistics show those most at risk of dying from overdoses are men between ages 30 and 59. Henry told convention delegates stigmatization of drug use as a criminal activity has led people to consume and die alone. Decriminalization is meant to “remove that label” from drug users to promote safer use and to save lives, she said.In a later interview on Monday, Henry said she is preparing to release two reports with recommendations to government following reviews of B.C.’s safe...

Lawsuits filed by building owner, victim’s family in Old Montreal fire that killed 7

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:47:52 GMT

MONTREAL — A pair of lawsuits have been filed in connection with a fire in an Old Montreal heritage building that killed seven people in March, including a suit by the owner of the property who is demanding $7.6 million from the city.Emile Benamor’s lawyers say city regulations for heritage properties made it impossible for him to carry out modifications or repairs to the building, which was built in 1890. The lawyers filed the lawsuit last Thursday, a few weeks after Montreal police said they had found traces of accelerant at the site of the fire and that the case had turned into a criminal investigation. “Due to its heritage status, the building is strongly regulated, as well as the work authorized on it, including the fact that certain work is completely impossible to carry out, in particular due to the city, which refuses any modification or alteration that is visible in relation to the original heritage construction,” the lawsuit says.The door to the building,...

Quebec delayed preparation for COVID-19 in care homes, leading to deaths: lawsuit

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:47:52 GMT

MONTREAL — The Quebec government’s failure to follow its pandemic-response plan as the novel coronavirus started circulating in other parts of the world in early 2020 led to preventable deaths in long-term care, a Montreal lawyer argued Monday.Patrick Martin-Ménard asked a judge to authorize a class-action lawsuit against the provincial government on behalf of all residents of public long-term care homes that experienced COVID-19 outbreaks in the first two waves of the pandemic, and on behalf of the families of those who died. By failing to implement an existing pandemic-response plan in early January 2020, the Quebec government and its health authorities breached their duty of care to the residents, Martin-Ménard told the Quebec Superior Court.“There was a plan in place since 2006, a road map of what was supposed to be done to prepare the public health-care system for a pandemic, and this plan included a number of measures that could be put in place to protect vulnerabl...

Federal authorities announce plan to safeguard sacred tribal lands in New Mexico’s Sandoval County

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:47:52 GMT

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — In an effort to safeguard sacred tribal lands, federal authorities announced a plan Monday to protect more than 4,000 acres (1,619 hectares) within the Placitas area in New Mexico’s Sandoval County.The U.S. Department of the Interior and federal Bureau of Land Management said a proposed mineral withdrawal would bar new mining claims and oil and gas development in the area for 50 years, subject to valid and existing rights.The Pueblos of San Felipe and Santa Ana have long sought protections for the Placitas area, which they consider ancestral and sacred lands.Authorities said the federal proposal would help protect, preserve and promote the scenic integrity, cultural importance, recreational values and wildlife habitat connectivity within the Placitas area near Albuquerque.The proposed withdrawal is on four separate tracts and contains known archaeological resources that range from as early as the prehistoric Paleoindian period through the historic Statehood ...

Migrants burst into southern Mexico asylum office demanding papers

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:47:52 GMT

TAPACHULA, Mexico (AP) — Migrants, mostly from Haiti, burst into an asylum office in southern Mexico on Monday, demanding papers.Throngs of migrants knocked over metal barricades and rushed into the office in the city of Tapachula, pushing past National Guard officers and police stationed at the office. Some of the migrants were trampled by their colleagues in the rush.Authorities later convinced many to leave, and no injuries were reported. The tension comes as asylum claims in Mexico have skyrocketed, reaching over 100,000 so far this year.Crowds of frustrated migrants, including many from Cuba and Honduras, say they have had to wait for weeks in some cases for an appointment at the office in Tapachula, near the border with Guatemala.At the office, run by the Mexican Commission for Refugee Aid, migrants can file claims for asylum in Mexico. Most, however, intend to use the papers to travel more safely and easily to the U.S. border.“It’s very complicated, there are too many p...

AP Top 25 Reality Check: Florida, Florida State, Miami ranked together for 1st time since 2017

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:47:52 GMT

The state of Florida’s big three is back in the AP Top 25.Florida State, Miami and Florida were all ranked in The Associated Press college football poll on Sunday. The last time that happened was briefly in September 2017.All three have been bumping along since then, with some highs (mostly from Florida) and plenty of lows.There was a time when that threesome practically ruled the sport. As recently as 2000, the Seminoles, Hurricanes and Gators all finished in the top 10.Whether all three are trending in the right direction is too be determined. Whether all three can even stay ranked for over the next few weeks is, too.The Gators moved in at No. 25 this week after beating Tennessee on Saturday night to give second-year coach Billy Napier his first victory in one of Florida’s rival games.Florida plays Charlotte next week before a manageable SEC East run of at Kentucky, Vanderbilt and at South Carolina before facing Georgia. Promising.Miami is No. 20 with a road trip to Te...

Maine’s top elected Republican, a lobsterman, survives boat capsize from giant wave ahead of Lee

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:47:52 GMT

Like most lobstermen, the Maine House Republican leader scrambled to complete his work ahead of the remnants of Hurricane Lee. Rep. Billy Bob Faulkingham was rushing home from sea when a giant wave rose up, seemingly from nowhere, and towered over his boat.Moments later, he and fellow fishermen Alex Polk found themselves plunged into the cold North Atlantic as they witnessed a horrifying sight: The sturdy 40-foot (12-meter) vessel built for offshore fishing had flipped over, its propeller still turning and its diesel engine belching black smoke.“This boat was turned upside down in a nanosecond like a bathtub toy,” Faulkingham recounted.The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and U.S. Coast Guard had warned mariners at noon Friday that they needed to immediately begin making plans to avoid the onrushing storm — just about when Faulkingham was turning to home at Winter Harbor, a few miles (kilometers) east of Mount Desert Island and Acadia National Park.Suffering a black e...

Suspect in custody after deadly shooting sends Bolingbrook police on manhunt

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:47:52 GMT

BOLINGBROOK, Ill. — Police say a suspect who led Bolingbrook officers on a brief manhunt following a deadly shooting on Monday has been taken into custody and all school lockdowns in the area have been lifted. Bolingbrook police say the search started after officers responded to reports of a person shot at a home in the 300 block of Walnut Circle just before 2 p.m. After arriving on scene, police found a man who had suffered an apparent gunshot wound and learned that the offender fled from the home on foot before police arrived. Police identified the victim as 33-year-old Devon Davis, who succumbed to his injurie after being taken to the hospital. Darien police say the suspect was taken into custody in Will County around 4 p.m.Bolingbrook police say the shooting appears to have resulted from a family argument and was not random. Couple, 2 children, 3 dogs found dead inside Romeoville home: police Valley View Schools say Bolingbrook students were advised to shelter in place as...

13-year-old accused of robbing man at gunpoint facing felony Charge

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:47:52 GMT

CHICAGO — A 13-year-old boy accused of robbing a man at gunpoint is facing a felony charge after his arrest on Sunday, according to Chicago police.Police say the teen boy was arrested just before 2:30 p.m. in the city's Austin neighborhood, only minutes after he allegedly robbed a man at gunpoint in the same area. According to police, the robbery happened in Austin, in the 5700 block of West Huron Street. Officers say the 59-year-old man was allegedly held up by the teen, who then stole property from the man. Police search for suspect after shooting Bolingbrook leaves man hospitalized Officers say the teen is now facing a felony charge of robbery with a firearm.Police provided details about the teen's arrest in a news release sent out on Monday morning.Police have not identified the juvenile or the victim involved.

'Going through a storm:' Bears' struggles continue to start 2023 season

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:47:52 GMT

LAKE FOREST, Ill. — A new year has not brought new success to the Bears early in 2023, instead, it's only continued struggles that were there in 2022. While Sunday was a little closer than the difficult Week 1 defeat at the hands of the Packers at home, it still hammered home the fact that the team is still far off from being a contender in the National Football League.Even quarterback Justin Fields agreed after a 27-17 loss to the Buccaneers on Sunday, dropping the Bears to 0-2 on the still-young season.“I think we have a long way to go," said the quarterback to the media at Raymond James Stadium. "I just think, if we keep working, we'll get there. I think everybody has to keep that mindset. I think in this position, 0-2, you can do one of two things and that's either lay down and just kind of throw in the towel and just say whatever. "But I don't think anybody on the team is like that."Yet things are not easy for a group that's approaching a full year since they last won a regular...