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Groups decry ‘punitive,’ ‘coercive’ drug policies amid worsening overdose crisis

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:39:16 GMT

VANCOUVER — A coalition of eight advocacy groups is decrying Canada’s “devastating” drug policy that advocates say is doing more harm than good in the country’s fight against the illicit drug overdose crisis.The groups sent a co-written letter to three federal ministers on Monday, criticizing the country’s drug policy as “punitive” and “coercive” and urging Ottawa to “issue a public statement denouncing all forms” of involuntary care aimed at drug users across Canada.Corey Ranger, president of co-authoring group Harm Reduction Nurses Association, said while programs such as mandatory treatment of overdose patients infringe on individual rights, there is an equal amount of concern over how effective they are in the first place. “The reality is that involuntary care, punitive approaches, simply do not work,” said Ranger, who has worked in harm reduction for a decade. “And that is one of the most import...

Guatemala voters send 2 presidential candidates on opposite sides of political spectrum to a runoff

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:39:16 GMT

GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — Guatemala voters sent two presidential candidates from opposite sides of the political spectrum to an Aug. 20 runoff, giving hope to many disenchanted citizens that change might be possible, according to preliminary results Monday. With 98% of the votes counted from Sunday’s election, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal said former first lady Sandra Torres for the conservative UNE party had 15.7% and Bernardo Arévalo for the leftist Seed Movement had 11.8%.Irma Elizabeth Palencia Orellana, president of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, said at a news conference Monday that the results were “practically unchangeable.”Miguel Conde of the ruling VAMOS party sat in a distant third with 7.8%, ahead of the other 19 presidential candidates. The two leaders didn’t come close to the 50% threshold needed to win in the first round. A cluster of other candidates hovered between 6% and 7% of the votes. There was 60% turnout, and nearly 1 million invalid ballots from a ...

Colombia honors searchers and sniffer dog that helped find 4 children who survived plane crash

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:39:16 GMT

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Colombia’s president handed out 86 medals Monday to soldiers, Indigenous volunteers and government officials who helped in the rescue of four children who spent 40 days on their own in the jungle after a plane crash.President Gustvao Petro described the search that captivated world attention as an example of how Western technologies and traditional knowledge of Indigenous people can work together in the “preservation of life.” The children, Indigenous siblings, were on a small plane with their mother and two other adults when it crashed in the Amazon on May 1. The three adults died.Some 70 Indigenous people worked with more than 150 soldiers to look for the children in difficult terrain, using helicopters and GPS devices but also drawing inspiration from traditional knowledge of the jungle. The children, aged 1 to 13, were found June 9 by four volunteers from the Muruy people. The children are still recovering at a military hospital in Bogota.“The milit...

Search underway for missing Chicago 13-year-old

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:39:16 GMT

CHICAGO -- The Chicago Police Department is asking for the public's help in locating a missing 13-year-old who was last seen last Wednesday.Dontiasiah Hooper, 13, was last seen on the 400 block of West 71st Street near Chicago's Hamilton Park on Wednesday, June 21. Search underway for missing Chicago man diagnosed with autism Hooper is described as 5-foot-7, weighing 200 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes.Anyone with information regarding's Dontiasiah Hooper's whereabouts are asked to contact the Chicago Police Department at 312-747-8380.

Illinois launches 110 mph passenger rail from Chicago to St. Louis

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:39:16 GMT

CHICAGO, Ill. (WTVO) — Monday marked the start of a 110 mph passenger rail service between Chicago and St. Louis.Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and other federal, state, and local officials celebrated the start of service for the $1.96 billion project.Major upgrades were performed at 212 grade crossings, and new safety and reliability safeguards were put in place along the route. New stations were built in Dwight, Pontiac, Carlinville, and Alton. The Lincoln station was renovated, the Normal station was improved, and the Springfield station upgraded.New customer amenities have been added, and new locomotives have been acquired. See where the Wienermobile is stopping in Chicago over the next few weeks “Illinois is the only state where all seven of the nation’s largest railroads operate. That’s a unique economic advantage recognized by employers across the globe, helping our state attract and maintain quality jobs,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “By upgrading to higher-speed service on Illi...

Seven states face extreme temperatures as Texas heat wave expands

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:39:16 GMT

(The Hill) – Seven states in the southern U.S. are facing high temperatures as the heat wave sweeping Texas expands to surrounding areas. Heat advisories and excessive heat warnings now affect parts of Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi, as well as parts of New Mexico and Arizona to the west, according to the National Weather Service (NWS). The heat wave, which has been raging in Texas for more than a week, is setting records in parts of the Lone Star State and is expected to strain its electric grid as temperatures climb into the 100s in some places.The NWS said Sunday afternoon that "oppressive heat" across the Southern U.S. is "not going anywhere soon."The temperature in Phoenix hit 111 degrees on Sunday, which the local NWS reports is 5 degrees above normal for that date. The NWS in Albuquerque, N.M., also reported near-record temps over the weekend. NWS branches in Texas have warned that the punishing temperatures can be dangerous, warning residents to ...

Death of Texas airport worker 'ingested' into plane engine ruled a suicide

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:39:16 GMT

(NEXSTAR) - Federal officials have confirmed they will not launch an investigation after a ground crew member was "ingested" into a plane's engine in San Antonio, Texas last week based on the medical examiner's determination that the worker's death was a suicide. The Bexar County Medical Examiner identified the worker as a 27-year-old man and ruled his cause of death as blunt and sharp force injuries, according to local reports. They also determined his manner of death as suicide.Following the determination, a National Transportation Safety Board spokesperson said the agency would not be investigating the incident, noting "there were no operational safety issues with either the airplane or the airport."The incident happened after a Delta flight from Los Angeles arrived at San Antonio International Airport late Friday night. The plane was taxiing to its gate with one engine on, the NTSB told Nexstar Sunday. As the plane was taxiing, “a worker was ingested into that engine,” NTSB expl...

Ascension Texas relocating central Austin women's health clinic

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:39:16 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Ascension Medical Group Seton Women's Health announced Monday it is relocating staff at its central Austin clinic to a new location just down the road.Ascension Texas officials said the clinic will relocate from its current location at 1305 W. 34th St. to 1111 W. 34th St., located in Bailey Square. Ascension Medical Group Seton Women's Health offers "routine and advanced care for women's health," with concentrations in both obstetric and gynecologic surgical care, per the release. The clinic previously operated under the name Women Partners in Health. Appointments can be made online or by calling (512) 324-8670.

Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert will compete for France in this summer’s FIBA World Cup

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:39:16 GMT

For the second straight season, Rudy Gobert will enter Timberwolves’ training camp fresh off an international competition.After months of indecision, the center has committed to play for France at the FIBA World Cup, which takes place from late August to mid-September.Anthony Edwards is set to compete in the same tournament for the U.S. That will mark Edwards’ first major international appearance for the senior national team.Gobert, meanwhile, is a veteran of such competitions. The 7-foot-1 big man played for France in EuroBasket just last year, leading the Blues to a second-place finish.That tournament wrapped just prior to the start of Minnesota’s training camp. The Wolves managed Gobert’s workload to kick off team activities. Yet the center still didn’t look quite like himself physically until well into the season. Gobert also battled back spasms at the end of the campaign.Gobert was excited for this summer because he felt it’d be his “be...

South St. Paul, Inver Grove Heights teens die after jumping off cliffs into Lake Superior

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:39:16 GMT

SILVER BAY, Minn. — Two 18-year-olds died Sunday after jumping off cliffs into Lake Superior.Austin Henning, of South St. Paul, and Maximillion Williams, of Inver Grove Heights, drowned after jumping into the lake, according to Lake County Sheriff Nathan Stadler. A 911 caller reported the two were “struggling to swim” at Black Beach at 1:25 p.m. Sunday.“It was wavy and windy, and the water is cold. I don’t know what the temperature was, but it had to be fairly cold,” Stadler told the Duluth News Tribune. “So I know that played into the fact that once they got into the water, they struggled and were actually being pulled out away from the shore.”At the time of the drownings, wind speeds were up to 23 mph and waves 3-4 feet, said Boatswain’s Mate 2nd Class Jamie Rodriguez Ayala of the U.S. Coast Guard, who responded to the scene via boat from Bayfield, Wisconsin. The Coast Guard also sent a helicopter from Traverse City, Michigan.“...