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Robbins: A discredited Supreme Court bodes ill for the future

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 08:10:46 GMT

One of the things that do not seem to have been made great again by Donald Trump is Americans’ respect for the Supreme Court. Yanked hard to the hard right by Trump’s appointment of Justices Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett, the Court has auto-plunged into public disrepute, with regard for our highest court at an all-time low. Two recent polls taken by Marquette Law School and Quinnipiac University showed identical results: 59% of Americans disapprove of the Court, adding to the disrespect for the rule of law that has reached crisis levels.The arrogance displayed by certain of the Justices in insisting that they are free to violate self-evident ethical norms has not exactly burnished the Court’s sagging reputation. Clarence Thomas’ serial acceptance of lavish vacations and other financial assistance from wealthy Republican donor Harlan Crow has strained whatever existed of his credibility, and his repeated, deliberate failures to disclose any of this speaks volume...

Further negotiations won’t bring end to B.C. port workers strike, employers say

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 08:10:46 GMT

VANCOUVER — The association representing employers in an ongoing strike at British Columbia ports says it doesn’t think more bargaining is going to produce a collective agreement.The BC Maritime Employers Association released a statement Monday afternoon saying it had gone as far as possible on core issues.The International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada, representing thousands of workers who load and unload cargo at terminals at more than 30 B.C. ports, walked off the job Saturday morning.Both sides negotiated over the weekend and were at the table earlier in the day on Monday.The association said it has advanced “reasonable proposals and positions in good faith” but said the union refuses to budge. “ILWU Canada went on strike over demands that were and continue to be outside any reasonable framework for settlement. Given the foregoing mentioned, the BCMEA is of the view that a continuation of bargaining at this time is not going to produce a collectiv...

Mexico’s old ruling party fractures following election loss

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 08:10:46 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s old ruling party fractured Monday, with four leading senators resigning amid internal disputes and the loss of the last major state the party governed. The Institutional Revolutionary Parties held the presidency and almost all statehouses in Mexico without interruption for 70 years. But the PRI, as the party is known, has been reduced to a shadow of its former self by the rise of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s Morena party, which won the governorship of the last major PRI bastion, the State of Mexico, last month.Morena has seized on the combination of handout programs and nationalism that the PRI once espoused, and has largely replaced it.On Monday, four leading PRI senators and dozens of supporters announced they are quitting the party. Senators led by former interior secretary Miguel Osorio Chong announced they will form a new group called “Congruence for Mexico.” The new group will not be able to compete in the 2024 presidential election...

Dispute over human remains part of battle between North Dakota medical waste facility, health system

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 08:10:46 GMT

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Human remains are at the center of tangled litigation involving a major regional health care system and the company contracted to dispose of its medical waste. Monarch Waste Technologies sued Sanford Health and the subsidiary responsible for delivering the health care system’s medical waste, Healthcare Environmental Services, saying the latter “brazenly” deposited a human torso hidden in a plastic container to Monarch’s facility in March. Monarch discovered the remains four days later after an employee “noticed a rotten and putrid smell,” according to the company’s complaint. Monarch rejected the remains and notified North Dakota’s Department of Environmental Quality, which is investigating. An agency spokeswoman declined to comment during an active investigation.The Texas-based company also claims an employee of Sanford Health’s subsidiary deliberately placed and then took photos of disorganized waste to suggest that Monarch had mismanaged medical ...

Chicago flooding is stark reminder of vulnerability of major cities during extreme weather

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 08:10:46 GMT

Heavy rains that flooded Chicago neighborhoods, rendered freeways impassable and wreaked havoc on NASCAR street races downtown Sunday are serving as stark reminders of urban centers’ vulnerability during extreme weather events.Warmer air over metropolitan areas combined with many square miles of impermeable concrete add up to intensifying storms that generate billions of gallons of run-off rainfall with nowhere to go, stressing cities’ sewer systems, experts say. In major cities, extreme weather causes water and debris to flow into homes, businesses, and underground train systems.After a historic deluge in April in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, residents had to wade through knee- and chest-high water, and navigate the streets on canoes and kayaks. In Texas, heavy rains across the drought-stricken Dallas-Fort Worth area last August led to hundreds of high-water calls.With projections calling for more frequent and powerful storms as climate change continues, cities like Chicag...

Mayor Brandon Johnson tours damages after heavy rains flood Chicago

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 08:10:46 GMT

Cleanup is underway around Chicago after a deluge of nearly nine inches of rain flooded streets and basements all around the City Sunday.Among those out and about in the aftermath of the torrential rainfall, Mayor Brandon Johnson was making his rounds in Austin, checking in with residents and working to leverage City resources to help address the damages left behind.“That’s why we’re here today. That’s why I ran for office,” Johnson told WGN News. “When government is not doing its part—creating jobs, redoing infrastructure, these are the ideas I ran on. I know what it feels like when there’s not enough to go around.”City officials said the Department of Streets and Sanitation, along with other agencies, will be out and about as well, distributing dumpsters across communities impacted, while helping remove larger items that were washed out into the streets during the flooding.Tara Stamps, a newly elected Cook County Commissioner in the 1st District, said there are a lot of people who...

Two arrested after Elmhurst police recover large amount of fireworks

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 08:10:46 GMT

ELMHURST, Ill -- Two people were arrested after Elmhurst police found a large collection of fireworks Sunday night.According to the Elmhurst Police Department, multiple reports of large commercial-grade fireworks were being detonated in a public street on Sunday. Upon arrival, officers discovers a large amount of fireworks with launch tubes. WATCH: Animals snack on 4th of July treats at Brookfield Zoo Due to the size of the fireworks, the DuPage County Sheriff Bomb Squad responded to safely remove them from the scene."(The) use of large fireworks in dense residential neighborhoods is dangerous and against the law in Illinois," Elmhurst police wrote on a Facebook post.The Elmhurst Police Department charged two adults with violating the Illinois Pyrotechnic Use Act. The pair could face fines up to $2,500 per offense if found guilty.

6 dead in South Carolina murder, fire; family member charged

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 08:10:46 GMT

COLLETON COUNTY, S.C. (WCBD) – Bond was denied Monday for a man accused in a Colleton County, South Carolina murder and fire investigation.Agencies responded to a house fire on Folly Creek Lane in the Green Pond community around 11:00 a.m. Sunday after a neighbor reported seeing the home on fire, according to Colleton County Fire Rescue.Fire Rescue officials said the roof had already collapsed on one end and fire was visible from the remaining roof and several windows when crews arrived.A 13-year-old with cuts and stab wounds was found outside of the home and airlifted to an area hospital for treatment.“The injured [party] advised that there were victims inside the home. During extinguishment and overhaul, Firefighter-Paramedics discovered six victims inside the home. All six were deceased,” said officials with Colleton County Fire Rescue. During the investigation, Colleton County deputies said they obtained information that led to the arrest of Ryan L...

TDCJ correctional officers burning out in Texas heat

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 08:10:46 GMT

AUSTIN (Nexstar) -- For years, Michael Webber would sweat in the searing metal attics above Texas' state prisons as he powered through electrical maintenance trips minutes at a time. That was all the time the oppressive heat would allow."We'd see temperatures as high as 130, 140. You'd work in that for a couple of hours, and you can only be up there for so long," Webber said. "Then you'd have to come back down into that 105, 110 degree weather that everyone lives in so you could cool off. The conditions there could be really grueling. It becomes just like a pressure cooker filled with heat."Webber remembers witnessing other staff members succumb to the pressures to stay conscious and hydrated through long summer days. Staff would pass out from the heat at least once a week, he said, overheating from the physical demands of pacing through stifling cellblocks, climbing stairs, patrolling the yard and staying vigilant under a stab-proof vest."To put them in that environment is a recipe...

City of Bee Cave City allows HOAs to pay for extra police patrols

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 08:10:46 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — You could soon see police officers patrolling private neighborhoods in Bee Cave.In a recent meeting, the Bee Cave City Council approved a resolution to allow homeowners associations to pay for overtime so officers can patrol neighborhoods.Bee Cave City Manager Clint Garza says speeding and drivers not stopping at stop signs are causing issues in the Falconhead neighborhood."We can put them in the neighborhoods, but outside the normal patrol hours, so I think it is a good idea because the neighborhood wanted the additional patrol, but they offered to step up and fund it themselves," said Garza. City of Austin overtime pay soars over $112 million in 2022 Travis Lowe says people are cutting through his neighborhood to get to FM 620 or SH 71, and they aren't driving the speed limit, which is 25 or 30 mph, depending on the area."I am seeing cars go 50 to 60," Lowe said. "We love it over here. We love the neighborhood. The traffic, not so much."The patrol would operate f...