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California targets smash-and-grabs with $267 million program aimed at ‘brazen’ store thefts

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:37 GMT

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California will spend $267 million to help dozens of local law enforcement agencies increase patrols, buy surveillance equipment and conduct other activities aimed at cracking down on smash-and-grab robberies happening around the state.Officials from the California Highway Patrol and San Francisco and Los Angeles law enforcement agencies made the announcement Friday. It follows a string of brazen luxury store robberies in recent months, where dozens of individuals come into a store and begin stealing en masse.Videos of the incidents have quickly spread online and fueled critics who argue California takes too lax an approach to crime.“Enough with these brazen smash-and-grabs — we’re ensuring law enforcement agencies have the resources they need to take down these criminals,” Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a statement about the grants.The spending comes from a pot of money Newsom first requested in late 2021, after he signed a law to reestablish a state...

Lawyers argue 3 former officers charged in Tyre Nichols’ death should have separate trials

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:37 GMT

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Three former Memphis police officers accused of fatally beating Tyre Nichols after a traffic stop should have separate trials because they have different levels of responsibility than two other former colleagues who also are charged with murder in the highly publicized case, defense lawyers said Friday.Lawyers for Tadarrius Bean, Desmond Mills and Justin Smith have filed motions to sever their cases from Demetrius Haley and Emmitt Martin, arguing that they cannot receive fair trials if they all face a jury together for the violent beating of Nichols on Jan. 7 that was caught on police video.All five former members of a Memphis Police Department crime-suppression unit have pleaded not guilty to state charges including second-degree murder and aggravated kidnapping in the beating of Nichols, who was punched, kicked and slugged with a police baton after he fled a traffic stop during which he was hit with a stun gun and pepper spray.Nichols, 29, died in a hospital ...

Man arrested in multiple sexual assaults at Toronto Osteopathic treatment centre

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:37 GMT

One man has been arrested in connection with multiple sexual assaults at an Osteopathic treatment centre at Yonge and St. Clair West.Police say they were called the centre on June 23 for reports of a sexual assault.It’s alleged that the accused was the operator of the treatment centre and he’s alleged to have sexually assaulted patients while providing Osteopathic treatment.Robert Morelli, 70, of Toronto has been arrested and charged with three counts of sexual assault.He’s expected to appear in court on Oct. 12.

Big wins for organized labor and progressive causes as California lawmakers wrap for the year

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:37 GMT

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — When health care workers in California asked the state Legislature for a raise earlier this year, it seemed like the longest of long shots — especially after lawmakers in May had to loan hospitals in financial distress $150 million just to stay open.But on Thursday, just before the Legislature adjourned for the year, lawmakers voted to boost the pay of health care workers to at least $25 per hour — and the California Hospital Association supported it, even issuing a joint news release with the labor union praising the bill. The union behind the effort called it the nation’s first statewide minimum wage for health workers.The vote capped a legislative session in California that once again showed the strength of organized labor in the nation’s most populous state. Fast food workers? They got a $20-per-hour minimum wage, which would be the highest base pay in the country for an often overlooked workforce. Striking workers? They could get unemployme...

Canada announces $5 million for Libya flood victims as death toll mounts

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:37 GMT

OTTAWA — Canada is announcing $5 million in aid for groups helping people in Libya who have been displaced by disastrous flooding.International Development Minister Ahmed Hussen said the money will help provide emergency health care, water and shelter to northeast Libya through groups like United Nations agencies and the Red Crescent.The flooding started last Sunday, when storm Daniel caused dams to burst.Some 10,000 people are missing and presumed dead in a disaster that has already claimed more than 11,000 lives.Libyan authorities warned Friday that waterborne disease and explosive ordnance that shifted during the flood could claim even more lives.The country’s two opposing governments, who have been divided for years by civil strife and war, have struggled to respond. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 15, 2023.— With files from The Associated PressThe Canadian Press<!– Photo: 20230915170940-6504cf8728afdcba1f673fbdjpeg.jpg, Caption: Canada...

Alberta government to help families affected by E. coli outbreak at Calgary daycares

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:37 GMT

CALGARY — The Alberta government will immediately give families a one-time payment of $2,000 for each child affected by an E. coli outbreak related to several Calgary daycares, Premier Danielle Smith said Friday.“Families are having a tough time with a lot of disruptions. Some have spent days and nights watching their children in pain in the hospital or sick at home, and we understand that this has put families under a lot of stress,” said Smith, who got choked up at a news conference as she described the anguish and broken trust affected families must be feeling.“We want to help ease as much of that stress as we can. And that includes the financial strain this has caused due to parents being away from work and caring for their kids.”Investigators were still looking for the source of the outbreak that has infected hundreds and left dozens of children severely ill since it was declared on Sept. 4. Health officials have said it almost certainly came from a cent...

Greece wins new credit rating boost that stops short of restoring Greek bonds to investment grade

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:37 GMT

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece’s economy received a substantial vote of confidence late Friday from Moody’s ratings agency, which upgraded the Greek credit rating by two notches but stopped just short of returning the formerly struggling country to formal financial respectability.Moody’s said it was upgrading Greece’s rating from Ba3 to Ba1, with a stable outlook. But that still leaves the country’s bonds one notch shy of investment grade, which would clear the way for purchases by many major global investors.Finance Minister Kostis Hatzidakis said the upgrade was “mainly a proof that the government must remain faithful to a sober fiscal policy,” to be combined with “sensitivity” on social issues.The last time Moody’s upgraded Greece’s rating was in November 2020. It had downgraded the country’s bonds to non-investment, or junk, status in 2010, at the height of the financial crisis that forced three international bailouts in return for s...

Oregon launches legal psilocybin access amid high demand and hopes for improved mental health care

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:37 GMT

EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — Psilocybin tea, wind chimes and a tie-dye mattress await those coming to an office suite in Eugene to trip on psychedelic mushrooms. For roughly six hours, adults over 21 can experience what many users describe as vivid geometric shapes, a loss of identity and a oneness with the universe.Epic Healing Eugene — America’s first licensed psilocybin service center — opened in June, marking Oregon’s unprecedented step in offering the mind-bending drug to the public. The center now has a waitlist of more than 3,000 names, including people with depression, PTSD or end-of-life dread.No prescription or referral is needed, but proponents hope Oregon’s legalization will spark a revolution in mental health care.Colorado voters last year passed a measure allowing regulated use of psychedelic mushrooms starting in 2024, and California’s Legislature this month approved a measure that would allow possession and use of certain plant- and mushroom-based psychedelics, in...

Over 14,000 without power on the South Side

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:37 GMT

CHICAGO — Over 14,000 people are without power on the city's South Side on Friday afternoon, according to ComEd.In a post shared on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, Alderman Matthew O'Shea said the 19th Ward suffered a major power outage impacting several thousand homes and businesses. 10 hospitalized after Salmonella outbreak at Avondale taqueria According to the ComEd outage map, as of 4:15 p.m. on Friday, over 14,600 customers were without power.Ald. O'Shea says ComEd is expected to provide an update on the outage on Friday afternoon.Currently, it is unclear what caused the outage or how long it will take crews to restore service.This is a developing story, stay with WGN News for the latest updates.

Video shows trooper dragged by car during Massachusetts traffic stop

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:37 GMT

BROCKTON, Mass. (WPRI) — A fugitive allegedly caught on camera dragging a Massachusetts State Police trooper with his car in Brockton, Massachusetts Wednesday evening has been captured, according to authorities.Troopers found Derek Lobo, 31, hiding inside a Union Street home Thursday afternoon. He was arrested by the same trooper he's accused of dragging the night before.Derek Lobo (Courtesy: Massachusetts State Police)Dashcam footage from the initial traffic stop shows two troopers speaking with Lobo, who was sitting in the driver's seat. The driver's side door was open and one of the troopers was leaning into the vehicle when Lobo unexpectedly stepped on the gas and took off, police said.The trooper who was speaking directly with Lobo could be seen clinging to the vehicle as it sped away. He held on for several yards before falling onto the pavement, an oncoming car narrowly missing him.The trooper suffered minor injuries.Lobo is facing nearly a dozen charges, including assault an...