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Newsom pledges 1,200 tiny homes for California’s homeless

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:11:38 GMT

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California will spend about $30 million to build 1,200 small homes across the state this year, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Thursday, part of a plan to help house the nation’s largest homeless population and to address an issue that has persistently plagued the state during the governor’s time in office.The homes, some as small as 120 square feet (11 square meters), can be assembled in 90 minutes and cost a fraction of what it takes to build permanent housing. Newsom said the homes can create space to help clear homeless encampments that have sprung up across the state’s major cities. Federal courts have ruled cities can’t clear homeless encampments if there are no shelter beds available.“We need to focus more energy and precision on addressing encampments,” Newsom said. “There’s no humanity there. People are dying on our watch.”Newsom announced the plans in Sacramento on the first stop of a planned four-city tour, where he has ...

10 charged in Irvo Otieno’s death at mental hospital

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:11:38 GMT

DINWIDDIE, Va. (AP) — Video from a state mental hospital shows a Black Virginia man who was handcuffed and shackled being pinned to the ground by deputies who are now facing second-degree murder charges in his death, according to relatives of the man and their attorneys who viewed the footage Thursday.Speaking at a news conference shortly after watching the video with a local prosecutor, the family and attorneys condemned the brutal treatment they said Irvo Otieno, 28, was subjected to, first at a local jail and then at the state hospital where authorities say he died March 6 during the admission process.They called on the U.S. Department of Justice to intervene in the case, saying Otieno’s constitutional rights were clearly violated. “What I saw today was heartbreaking, America. It was disturbing. It was traumatic. My son was tortured,” said Otieno’s mother, Caroline Ouko. Otieno’s case marks the latest example of a Black man’s in-custody death that ha...

The AP Interview: Gov. Wes Moore reflects on first 2 months

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:11:38 GMT

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said Thursday he’s aiming for “the most full assault on child poverty” to ever happen in Maryland during his first legislative session, touching on a wide variety of topics in an exclusive interview with The Associated Press.The governor, a Democrat, spoke about concerns in the banking industry after the second and third largest bank failures in U.S. history, his support for President Joe Biden, his thoughts on reparations for slavery, expanding the use of electric vehicles and police reform during the interview, among other topics.Two months into his tenure, Moore, who is Maryland’s first Black chief executive and the third Black governor ever elected in the nation, noted the historical nature of his landslide November victory. He said his portrait will look “a little bit different” than the ones of white governors on the walls inside Maryland’s Capitol.“I received more individual votes for governor than anyone else on...

Kentucky lawmakers pass ban on youth gender-affirming care

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:11:38 GMT

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Republican lawmakers in Kentucky passed a measure Thursday to ban gender-affirming care for transgender minors, completing whirlwind voting on a repackaged proposal that triggered outrage and tears among opponents unable to stop the sweeping policymaking on a culture wars issue.Supporters of the proposal — which affects how gender is discussed in schools — beat a Thursday deadline to retain their power to override an expected gubernatorial veto.GOP supermajorities in the House and Senate overwhelmingly passed the bill, a day after a slimmed-down version had stalled in the Senate and seemingly left the issue in limbo. A cascade of shouting erupted from some bill opponents in the gallery after the Senate vote.The bill’s foes denounced the fast-track maneuvering and the expanded measure’s implications for trans youths. Overcome with emotion, a sobbing Rep. Josie Raymond said children would be harmed. “I’m embarrassed and I’m appalled and I&...

Guards union says second pigeon wearing tiny backpack found in B.C. prison

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:11:38 GMT

VANCOUVER — A pigeon wearing a tiny empty backpack has been captured inside a federal prison in British Columbia, in what a union official says was likely another plan by inmates to smuggle drugs. The discovery at the Matsqui prison in the Fraser Valley comes just a few months after another pigeon was captured carrying a backpack full of crystal methamphetamine at the Pacific Institution right next door. John Randle, the Pacific regional president at the Union of Canadian Correctional Officers, says the latest pigeon’s pack was made of blue jeans and bedsheets, materials easily available to inmates. He says the pigeon was found inside the prison on Feb. 27, while the first bird was caught on prison grounds. Randle says there’s an elementary school close by and pigeons smuggling drugs are a real concern, especially if one lands at the wrong place.He says that after the backpack was removed in the latest incident, the bird was released “completely unharmed.”“We...

Nonprofit head pleads guilty in Mississippi welfare fraud

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:11:38 GMT

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — The director of a Mississippi nonprofit organization pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court to stealing government funds intended to help needy families in one of the poorest states in the U.S., court documents show. Christi Webb, director of the north Mississippi-based Family Resource Center, appeared before U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves in Jackson. Court documents show Webb pleaded guilty to charges that could send her to prison for up to 10 years. The federal charges stem from a welfare scandal that has ensnared high-profile figures, including retired NFL quarterback Brett Favre, who lives in Mississippi. John Davis, who was Mississippi Department of Human Services executive director from 2016 to mid-2019, pleaded guilty last September to state and federal charges tied to misspending money through the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program. He has not yet been sentenced.The Mississippi Department of Human Services last year filed a civil laws...

Regulators monitor tritium leak at Minnesota nuclear plant

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:11:38 GMT

ST.. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota regulators said Thursday they’re monitoring the cleanup of a leak of 400,000 gallons of radioactive water from Xcel Energy’s Monticello nuclear power plant, and the company said there’s no danger to the public.“Xcel Energy took swift action to contain the leak to the plant site, which poses no health and safety risk to the local community or the environment,” the Minneapolis-based utility said in a statement.While Xcel reported the leak of water containing tritium to state and federal authorities in late November, the spill had not been made public before Thursday. State officials said they waited to get more information before going public with it.“We knew there was a presence of tritium in one monitoring well, however Xcel had not yet identified the source of the leak and its location,” Minnesota Pollution Control Agency spokesman Michael Rafferty said.“Now that we have all the information about where the leak occurred, how much ...

New Mexico gov. signs bill overriding local abortion bans

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:11:38 GMT

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico’s governor signed an abortion-rights bill Thursday that overrides local ordinances aimed at limiting access to abortion procedures and medications.Reproductive health clinics in New Mexico offer abortion procedures to patients from states, including Texas, with strict abortion bans. The new law also aims to ensure access to gender affirming healthcare related to distress over gender identity that doesn’t match a person’s assigned sex.New Mexico has one of the country’s most liberal abortion access laws, but two counties and three cities in eastern New Mexico have recently adopted abortion restrictions that reflect deep-seated opposition to offering the procedure.The bill signed by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham overrides those local ordinances.An additional bill working its way through New Mexico’s Legislature would protect abortion providers and patients from out-of-state interference, prosecution or extradition attempts.In 2021, New Mexico’s Dem...

Johnson endorsed by Bernie Sanders while Vallas garners support from aldermen

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:11:38 GMT

CHICAGO — As endorsements continue to pour in for Chicago's mayoral election, some national progressives are backing Brandon Johnson, while Paul Vallas increased his support on the South and West sides.Senator Bernie Sanders is backing Johnson, saying he knows the struggles of working families and the need to stand up for strong unions. Former mayoral candidate Kam Buckner is also endorsing Johnson."To me, this is the type of leadership we need to bring the city forward," Buckner said. SEE ALSO | AG Kwame Raoul backs Johnson, Vallas endorsed by Ja'Mal Green, councilmembersAlderpersons Michelle Harris, Anthony Beale, David Moore, Derrick Curtis and Emma Mitts – along with former Illinois Senate President Emil Jones Junior, and the Chicago Firefighters Union Local 2 all announcing their support for Paul Vallas."I'm glad to be joined by so many Black leaders coming together to support Paul Vallas for mayor," Harris said. On a day that wasn’t without fireworks, Johnson brought in suppor...

Northwest Indiana couple arrested on child pornography charges from incident in Texas

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:11:38 GMT

VALPARAISO, Ind. — A couple from Northwest Indiana has been arrested on alleged child pornography-related charges stemming from incidents in San Antonio, Texas.According to Indiana State Police, detectives and members of the FBI Gang Response Investigative Team served a search warrant on Jan. 4 at their home in the 500 block of Elm Street in Valparaiso. Boy, 4, among 2 seriously hurt in aftermath of liquid sugar truck crash on I-65 Arrest warrants were later issued for Veronica Solis, 33, and Gerald Brann, 42, after investigators reviewed evidence and continued to investigate, according to state police. ‘The Emily Talk’ aims to help local first responders treat people with disabilities On March 14, Solis was arrested and Brann was arrested in New Jersey while he was on an out-of-state trucking run, according to state police.They are both facing federal charges related to production of child pornography and are facing extradition to the Western District of Texas, according to cou...