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Senate passes $513M supplemental budget, still no spending plan for fiscal 2024

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 08:22:00 GMT

It seems the state will apparently see another supplemental budget, as the Legislature continues to drag its feet putting together a spending plan for Fiscal 2024 despite being almost a full month late.On Wednesday the state Senate passed its version of a half-a-billion dollar spending plan to cover costs which were not included in the original 2023 budget, while the wider more than $55 billion spending plan ostensibly due on July 1 remains mired in conference committee between the House and Senate.“This budget invests in the services that people around the Commonwealth use every day – the hospitals where people receive critical care, the special education programs in our schools, and programs that improve quality of life for individuals and families who are low-income, among other state priorities,” Senate President Karen Spilka said in a statement.Coming in a full $180 million under the House’s proposal, the $513 million supplemental budget will now head to conference committee ai...

Former senator, MP and journalist Pat Carney is dead at the age of 88

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 08:22:00 GMT

VANCOUVER — Pat Carney, who pioneered roles for women in Canadian politics and journalism, has died at the age of 88. Her niece, Jill Carney, confirmed in a statement that the former MP and senator passed away Tuesday. Pat Carney was the first female Conservative member of Parliament elected in B.C. and the first female Conservative appointed from the province to the Senate. Born in Shanghai, China, in May 1935, Carney was educated in Canada and worked as a journalist and economic consultant in the Northwest Territories and Yukon before entering politics. She was first elected to the House of Commons in February 1980 in the riding of Vancouver Centre.Her website says she began her journalism career in the 1960s and was the first female business columnist writing for daily newspapers, including the Vancouver Sun and Vancouver Province. It says Carney was also the first woman in every government portfolio she held, serving as the minister of energy, minister of international trade and...

Severe thunderstorms blast southern Michigan, cutting power to more than 140,000

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 08:22:00 GMT

DETROIT (AP) — Severe thunderstorms struck southern Michigan on Wednesday, uprooting trees, downing branches and power lines and cutting electricity to more than 140,000 customers, utilities and others reported.DTE Energy reported nearly 108,000 customers without power as of 5:40 p.m., and Consumers Energy reported more than 32,000 without service.The National Weather Service reported trees and tree limbs had fallen in the Detroit area, Ann Arbor and other locations across southern Michigan.The weather service measured a 67 mph (107.83 kilometer-per-hour) wind gust in the Detroit suburb of Romulus.The Associated Press

Charges filed against members of Southern California gang after killing of 2 police officers

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 08:22:00 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Ten people linked to a Southern California street gang were charged with federal crimes, a year after a member shot and killed two suburban police officers, authorities announced Wednesday.Members and associates of the Quiet Village gang in the San Gabriel Valley east of Los Angeles were named in four grand jury indictments and a criminal complaint. Two people were arrested on Wednesday, four were already in custody and another four are fugitives, according to a statement from the U.S. attorney’s office.The charges include conspiracy, violent crimes in aid of racketeering, and drug and gun charges. However, they don’t include the June 14, 2022 killings of two El Monte police officers. The suspect killed himself after the shootings.Among other allegations, a gang member is charged in a shooting last year that targeted a suspected police informant in a car, instead killing a woman.The gang also ran a “casita” in Whittier that offered illegal gambling and sold ...

WNBA’s Riquna Williams out of Aces activities after felony domestic violence arrest in Las Vegas

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 08:22:00 GMT

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Riquna Williams, a veteran WNBA player and member of last year’s championship-winning Las Vegas Aces, has been barred from the team after her arrest on felony domestic violence charges involving a person authorities identified as her wife.A judge on Wednesday allowed Williams, 33, to be freed from jail without bail less than a day after her arrest, but said she can have no contact with her alleged victim and must comply with alcohol monitoring pending another court appearance Aug. 2.The Aces issued a statement acknowledging Williams’ arrest and saying that she is “precluded from participating in team activities.” The Aces were traveling Wednesday and are scheduled to play in Dallas on Sunday. “We condemn domestic violence of any kind,” the team said. “Our thoughts are with the parties involved in this situation.”The league issued a statement saying it was gathering more information.Williams faces five felony charges including multiple counts of dom...

As communities struggle with food insecurity, study shows impacts on youth mental health

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 08:22:00 GMT

A newly published study in the Canadian Medical Association Journal is showing youth who live in households that have food insecurity are seeing higher reported instances of mental health challenges.“Given the diverse mental health conditions examined, it is unlikely, however, that the mechanism of harm is lack of specific nutrients or poor diet quality,” an article posted on Monday said in part.“Much more likely is that food insecurity contributes to mental distress among those living in difficult circumstances, as has been shown in studies of the relationship between severity of household food insecurity and mental health disorders among adults.”It also said boosting and ensuring access to income support, supported by advocacy from doctors, is needed.Previous research by Valerie Tarasuk, a nutritional sciences professor emeritus at the University of Toronto and the lead investigator with PROOF Food Insecurity Policy Research, was cited in the article. She s...

Explaining the latest heat-associated deaths confirmed amid record highs in Arizona’s largest county

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 08:22:00 GMT

PHOENIX (AP) — Another seven heat-associated deaths were confirmed over the last week in America’s hottest big metro, health officials reported Wednesday, amid a blistering heat wave with daytime highs over 110 F (43.3 C) and overnight lows not dropping below 90 F (32.2 C). Maricopa County, the biggest county in Arizona and home to Phoenix, reported that its health department has confirmed 25 heat-associated deaths this year as of Saturday since the first one was recorded in April, with 249 more under investigation.That’s seven more heat-associated deaths for the year since 18 were reported as of July 15, when there were 69 additional deaths under investigation.As of the same time last year, there were 38 heat-associated deaths and 256 more listed as under investigation.The region’s county and city governments, hospitals, schools and non-profit groups that operate several hundred cooling and hydrating stations across the area are closely watching the confirmed death figu...

Kikuchi brilliant as Blue Jays take series finale against Dodgers

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 08:22:00 GMT

Starter Yusei Kikuchi impressed with six strong innings as the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 8-1 in the series finale on Wednesday afternoon.Kikuchi improved to 8-3 this year, striking out eight batters across six innings. He walked two and was charged with one earned run.The southpaw escaped jams multiple times against a talented Dodgers lineup in what was yet another strong outing for the 32-year-old, who now has 20 strikeouts and only six walks in his last three starts.Shortstop Bo Bichette had three hits and two RBIs, while left fielder Whit Merrifield had two hits and four driven in, including a three-run homer. Catcher Danny Jansen stayed hot at the plate with his 13th home run, a solo shot.The Whit Stick ???? pic.twitter.com/I7aGjL44Pu— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) July 26, 2023The Blue Jays rebounded from a gutting defeat on Tuesday after coughing up a four-run lead in the bottom of the ninth inning, leading to an 8-7 loss in extras. With Canadian clo...

California Gov. Gavin Newsom offers to help negotiate Hollywood strike

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 08:22:00 GMT

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom has contacted all sides of the strikes that have hobbled Hollywood, his office said Wednesday, offering to help broker a deal to restart an industry that is crucial to keeping the state’s economy humming amid signs of weakness.So far, neither studio executives nor actors and writers have shown formal interest in bringing Newsom to the negotiating table, said Anthony York, Newsom’s senior advisor for communications. But York said both Newsom and senior members of his administration have been in touch with all sides as the two strikes stretch deeper into the summer blockbuster season. “It’s clear that the sides are still far apart, but he is deeply concerned about the impact a prolonged strike can have on the regional and state economy,” York said. He further noted “thousands of jobs depend directly or indirectly on Hollywood getting back to work,” including crew, staff and catering. The last time the writers went on s...

22 attorneys general oppose 3M settlement over water systems contamination with ‘forever chemicals’

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 08:22:00 GMT

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — Twenty-two attorneys general urged a federal court Wednesday to reject a proposed $10.3 billion settlement over contamination of U.S. public drinking water systems with potentially dangerous chemicals, saying it lets manufacturer 3M Co. off too easily.The deal announced in June doesn’t give individual water suppliers enough time to determine how much money they would get and whether it would cover their costs of removing the compounds known collectively as PFAS, said the officials with 19 states, Washington, D.C., and two territories. In some cases the agreement could shift liability from the company to providers, they said.“While I appreciate the effort that went into it, the proposed settlement in its current form does not adequately account for the pernicious damage that 3M has done in so many of our communities,” said California Attorney General Rob Bonta, leader of the multistate coalition.3M spokesman Sean Lynch said the agreement “will ...