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Major Indiana plastics fire nearly out but residents worry

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 07:00:27 GMT

RICHMOND, Ind. (AP) — A major industrial fire fueled by tons of scrap plastics in an Indiana city was close to being extinguished Thursday after burning for more than 48 hours, though an evacuation order for people living near the disaster remained in place, authorities said.Richmond officials also disclosed more details about the city’s dealings with a man who was operating the business where the fire occured. They said Seth Smith was barred from accepting more plastics for resale, following a 2020 cleanup order, but he was allowed to keep selling a vast collection still on hand. “Unfortunately with the pandemic, it became a down market,” city attorney Andrew Sickmann told reporters.“It was hard to specify a deadline because this was a massive undertaking. There’s a lot of material there,” Sickmann said. “Our deadline was just as fast as possible.”The fire at the 14-acre former factory site in Richmond, population 35,000, began Tuesday afternoon. Clouds of black s...

Quebec provincial police officer killed on duty remembered as mother, wife, protector

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 07:00:27 GMT

TROIS-RIVIÈRES, Que. — A Quebec provincial police officer who was killed while on duty was remembered Thursday as a mother, a daughter, a friend and as a policewoman who dedicated her career to keeping others safe.Thousands of officers and first responders from across North America gathered in Trois-Rivières, Que., for the funeral of Sgt. Maureen Breau. The 20-year veteran of the force was fatally stabbed while serving an arrest warrant on March 27 in Louiseville, Que., about 100 kilometres northeast of Montreal.As her casket, draped in the Quebec flag, was carried into the church by eight officers, others watched with tears streaming down their faces. Along with her husband, Daniel Sanscartier, and two children, Khéraly and Emrick, three officers who were present the night she died accompanied the casket.During the funeral, speakers paid tribute to Breau’s long career but also to her devotion to her family. They noted that the 42-year-old was not just an officer but also a mo...

Dairy farm explosion injures 1 person, kills 18,000 cattle

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 07:00:27 GMT

DIMMITT, Texas (AP) — An explosion at a dairy farm in the Texas Panhandle that critically injured one person and killed an estimated 18,000 head of cattle is the deadliest barn fire recorded since the Animal Welfare Institute began tracking the fires.Castro County Sheriff Salvador Rivera has said the Monday fire and explosion at Southfork Dairy Farm near Dimmitt was likely caused by overheated equipment and would be investigated by state fire marshals.“This would be the most deadly fire involving cattle in the past decade, since we started tracking that in 2013,” institute spokesperson Marjorie Fishman said Thursday.The institute also tracks barn fires that kill other livestock, including poultry, pigs, goats and sheep.“The deadliest barn fire overall since we began tracking in 2013 … was a fire … at Hi-Grade Egg Producers North, Manchester, Indiana, which killed 1 million chickens,” according to Fishman.A 2022 report by the institute noted “several instances in which 10...

Biden celebrates new bridges as campaign season nears

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 07:00:27 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is awarding nearly $300 million to help repair or replace more than a dozen bridges across the country, closing out a three-week tour to highlight the benefits of infrastructure investments in local communities.Events in four states on Thursday marked the end of the beginning phase of an increasingly expansive White House effort to remind voters of his President Joe Biden’s accomplishments heading into his expected 2024 reelection race.During the administration’s “Investing in America” tour, Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and other officials held more than 50 events across 25 states at projects benefiting from the landmark infrastructure, climate and high-tech manufacturing laws passed during the Democratic president’s first two years in office.There will be much more talk to come about Biden’s record.“This is the focus of the next year-plus,” White House chief of staff Jeff Zients, who got the job in February w...

Hamilton declares state of emergency over opioids, homelessness, mental health

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 07:00:27 GMT

Hamilton’s city council declared a state of emergency on Thursday over homelessness, opioid addiction and mental health issues in the city.A motion approving the emergency call does not immediately compel the southern Ontario city to launch new programs to redress the widening crises.But it will see Mayor Andrea Horwath ask the provincial government to act on recommendations from a local group of public health agencies.Those include expanding services and harm reduction programs for people suffering from addiction, after a January report showed opioid-related deaths and overdoses in Hamilton had “increased exponentially.”The report said there were 26 opioid-related deaths in 2005 compared to 166 in 2021, noting that over 65 per cent of them were among males between 25 and 65 years old.Horwath will also call on the province to correct a funding model for homelessness, after a 2021 auditor general report found the province was not allocating enough resources to the i...

Doctor acquitted in 14 patient deaths sues health system

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 07:00:27 GMT

DETROIT (AP) — An Ohio doctor acquitted in the deaths of 14 patients who died after they were given painkillers has filed a lawsuit against a national Catholic health system that operates the hospital where he worked in the intensive care unit.William Husel claims malicious prosecution and names Trinity Health Corp. in a complaint filed Wednesday in federal court in Detroit. He is seeking a jury trial and at least $20 million in damages.Husel was accused of ordering painkillers for patients in the Columbus-area Mount Carmel Health System. He was indicted in cases that involved the use of at least 500 micrograms of the powerful painkiller fentanyl.Prosecutors in that case had said ordering such dosages for a nonsurgical situation indicated an intent to end lives. Husel’s attorneys argued he was providing comfort care for dying patients, not trying to kill them.A jury found Husel not guilty of 14 counts of murder in April 2022.Husel was fired in late 2018 from Mount Carmel West Hospit...

Demand for fruit trees increases as gardening season arrives in Greater Toronto Area

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 07:00:27 GMT

As the Greater Toronto Area basks in a temporary stretch of warm weather, it’s ushering in gardening season and an increased interest in planting food-bearing trees, shrubs and plants.At the Woodhill Garden Centre at the border of Toronto and Vaughan, there has been a surging demand for one particular category.“Very definite demand for anything edible. Every day we’re getting several phone calls about fruit trees. ‘What are they coming? How do I plant them?'” Ian McCallum, the centre’s manager, told CityNews. “I would say it happens every year but this year there’s more of [calls] and earlier. It’s basically everything, but fruit trees at this time of year are in the biggest demand. People want wild cherries specifically, cherries are huge, but the other ones are being asked for as well.”It’s unclear what’s driving that demand, but with surging inflation impacting the price of fresh fruit and vegetables it might...

2 ex-LA sheriff’s deputies face federal civil rights charges

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 07:00:27 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Two former Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies are accused of violating the civil rights of a skateboarder in 2020 and perpetrating a coverup, federal prosecutors said Thursday.A grand jury handed down the indictment last month, and both ex-deputies surrendered to authorities Thursday when it was unsealed. Miguel Vega and Christopher Hernandez allegedly threw the skateboarder — identified as “J.A.” in court papers — in the back of their cruiser and detained him without cause April 13, 2020, in Compton. He was still in the patrol vehicle when they then engaged in a pursuit and crashed the car, injuring the skateboarder. Prosecutors say the duo then conspired to coverup the then-23-year-old man’s unlawful detention.Vega, 32, and Hernandez, 37, are charged with conspiracy, deprivation of rights under color of law, witness tampering and falsification of records. Vega is charged with another falsification of records count. Their attorneys did not respond to an ...

Mini hydro company raises $18M to generate power in canals

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 07:00:27 GMT

A startup business that places small turbines in irrigation canals to generate electricity has raised $18.4 million to scale up its technology and generate carbon-free hydropower.Emily Morris, CEO and founder of Emrgy, said her inspiration for making electricity in places that some people might find unlikely was seeing the vast network of U.S. irrigation infrastructure, with water swiftly flowing through it. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation alone operates 1,600 miles of main canals. In the same way that putting solar on rooftops avoids disturbing the land, making use of existing canals means the hydropower turbines don’t have to be installed in the natural environment.“Our infrastructure represents a new sector of renewable energy real estate,” Morris said in an interview.Irrigation canals in the U.S. are made of concrete or stone and transport water from main sources to fields. Emrgy units look something like a propeller with blades rotating parallel to the ground. Water in the...

UNC students protest decision to ban ‘Cop City’ activist

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 07:00:27 GMT

Students at North Carolina’s flagship public university walked out of class Thursday to protest school officials’ decision to ban a law school student from campus after she was charged with domestic terrorism last month following a violent protest over a planned Atlanta-area police and firefighter training center that activists derisively call “Cop City.”University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill law school student Jamie Marsicano, 30, was one of 23 people arrested on domestic terrorism charges March 5 after a large group of masked activists stormed a Georgia construction site and proceeded to bash equipment, torch a bulldozer and throw rocks and fireworks at retreating law enforcement officers, according to police surveillance footage. Since being released on bond last month, Marsicano has been barred from attending class in person. On Thursday, more than 100 protesters marched across UNC’s campus chanting, “Jamie’s not in class! We are not in class!” The demo...