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B.C. announces new programs and police standards for sexual assault investigations

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 13:17:00 GMT

VANCOUVER — The British Columbia government is updating sexual assault policing standards to ensure more effective investigations and improved outcomes for survivors. The province announced Monday that it’s committing to providing stable annual funding to 68 sexual assault programs across B.C., while it sets new standards for police to collaborate with victims services workers during investigations. Public Safety Minister and Solicitor General Mike Farnworth said survivors deserve to be treated fairly after going through trauma and shielded from further harm, and the new standards and programs will “empower” those people. “The standards promote police co-ordination with health services and community supports,” Farnworth said. “They require supervisory oversight to make sure investigations are responsive and impartial, and a review of closed cases to improve future investigations or informed training moving forward.”The province said the fund...

US Forest Service burn started wildfire that nearly reached Los Alamos, New Mexico, agency says

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 13:17:00 GMT

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — The U.S. Forest Service says its own prescribed burn started a 2022 wildfire that nearly burned into Los Alamos, New Mexico. The Cerro Pelado fire burned across more than 60 square miles (155 square kilometers) and crept within a few miles of the city of Los Alamos and its companion U.S. national security lab. Investigations traced the outbreak of the wildfire in April 2022 under extremely dry conditions to hidden, smoldering remains of a prescribed burn of forest debris commissioned by the Forest Service earlier in the winter.The revelation prompted immediate rebukes against the Forest Service by New Mexico political leaders. The federal government already has acknowledged that it started the largest wildfire in state history that charred more than 530 square miles (1,373 square kilometers) of the Rocky Mountain foothills east of Santa Fe, New Mexico, destroying homes and livelihoods.Southwestern Regional Forester Michiko Martin said the Cerro Pelado fire west...

Mental health minister puts $156M toward launch of 988 crisis hotline in November

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 13:17:00 GMT

OTTAWA — The government is putting $156 million over three years toward a new three-digit suicide-prevention hotline, Mental Health Minister Carolyn Bennett announced Monday.Starting on Nov. 30, people in crisis will be able to dial 988 anywhere in Canada to be connected with trained responders 24 hours a day by phone or text message.The free service will be offered in English and French.The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health will receive the money to launch and operate the hotline.The minister is also giving the organization $21 million to bolster the capacity of distress centres as they prepare for the increased demand for services. The hotline won’t be able to help people in crisis unless they can connect with local mental health services, the Canadian Mental Health Association said in a statement Monday. Current wait-lists are overwhelming, CAMH said in a statement Monday, and the centre expects a four- to sixfold increase in demand when the new hotline launches.Withou...

Former Louisiana police officer accused of shooting unarmed Black man faces second criminal charge

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 13:17:00 GMT

SHREVEPORT, La. (AP) — State prosecutors have added a second felony charge against a former Louisiana police officer accused of fatally shooting an unarmed Black man earlier this year.The second criminal charge of felony malfeasance was added Monday as former Shreveport officer Alexander Tyler, who is white, was arraigned on charges of shooting Alonzo Bagley at an apartment complex in February. Tyler and another officer were responding to a report by Bagley’s wife of a domestic disturbance.Tyler pleaded not guilty to first-degree negligent homicide and felony malfeasance.Body camera footage shows officers knocking on Bagley’s door, Bagley retreating into his apartment, and then jumping off a second-floor balcony. The video shows Tyler catching Bagley and shooting him once in the chest, and then officers begging him to stay alive while trying to administer first aid.Tyler was charged with negligent homicide on Feb. 16 by the Louisiana State Police, about two weeks after the sho...

Santa Barbara’s daily, one of California’s oldest, stops publishing after owner declares bankruptcy

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 13:17:00 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The Pulitzer Prize-winning Santa Barbara News-Press, one of California’s oldest newspapers, has ceased publishing after its owner declared the 150-year-old publication bankrupt.The newspaper became an online-only publication in April. But its last digital edition was posted Friday when owner Wendy McCaw filed for bankruptcy. Managing editor Dave Mason broke the news to staff in an email Friday, according to NoozHawk, a digital publication whose executive editor, Tom Bolton, used to lead the News-Press.“They ran out of money to pay us. They will issue final paychecks when the bankruptcy is approved in court,” Mason wrote to staff.On Monday, the News-Press’ website was still online, with the most recent stories published Friday. There was no mention that it would cease publishing or that it has declared bankruptcy. A voicemail message left Monday by The Associated Press in the newsroom’s phone number was not immediately returned. The Chapter 7 bankrupt...

Former Wisconsin prosecutor sentenced for secretly recording sexual encounters

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 13:17:00 GMT

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A judge sentenced a former Wisconsin prosecutor to 18 months in prison Monday for secretly recording sexual encounters with two women, including one he was prosecuting in a restraining order case.A jury found former Burnett County District Attorney Daniel Steffen guilty in April of three counts of capturing an intimate representation depicting nudity. St. Croix County Circuit Judge Scott Nordstrand handed down the sentence. A state Department of Justice agent began investigating Steffen in early 2020, according to the criminal complaint in the case. A witness told the agent that a woman the witness knew had openly talked about having sex with Steffen in exchange for leniency on her pending criminal cases.The woman told the agent she had only met Steffen a couple times in court and denied having a relationship with him. She said she had several cases pending and ended up paying a fine. A few months, later she acknowledged a relationship with Steffen, saying she w...

Obamas’ personal chef drowns near family’s home on Martha’s Vineyard

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 13:17:00 GMT

EDGARTOWN, Mass. (AP) — Former President Barack Obama’s personal chef has drowned near the family’s home on Martha’s Vineyard. Massachusetts State Police confirmed that the paddleboarder whose body was recovered from Edgartown Great Pond on Monday was Tafari Campbell, 45, of Dumfries, Virginia. Campbell was employed by the Obamas and was visiting Martha’s Vineyard. The Obamas were not present at the home at the time of the accident. In a statement, the former president and his wife, Michelle Obama, called Campbell a “beloved part of our family.”“When we first met him, he was a talented sous chef at the White House – creative and passionate about food, and its ability to bring people together,” the couple said. “In the years that followed, we got to know him as a warm, fun, extraordinarily kind person who made all of our lives a little brighter.”“That’s why, when we were getting ready to leave the White House, we asked Tafari to stay with us, and he generously agreed. He’...

Journal series calls for inquiry into Canada’s COVID-19 response, highlighting shortfalls

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 13:17:00 GMT

A new series published in the BMJ medical journal is calling for an independent inquiry into Canada’s COVID-19 response. Experts from 13 organizations across Canada, including doctors, nurses, researchers, law and humanitarian specialists, along with Jocalyn Clark, a Canadian who is the BMJ’s international editor, wrote the seven articles published late Monday. “We see this as the next step in the pandemic,” said Dr. Sharon Straus, physician-in-chief at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto and one of the senior authors of the “Accountability for Canada’s COVID-19 Response” series. “This is the start of preparing for the next emergency,” she said. The articles identify shortfalls in Canada’s COVID-19 response, including difficulty reaching vulnerable and marginalized populations who were most at risk, the catastrophic deaths in long-term care homes and inconsistent public health messages across provinces and territories. The ar...

Miami-Dade’s police chief shot himself, state official says. He survived

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 13:17:00 GMT

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — The director of the Miami-Dade Police Department was in critical but stable condition following surgery in a Tampa area hospital a day after shooting himself, state law enforcement officials said Monday.Alfredo “Freddy” Ramirez, 52, was in Tampa for a law enforcement conference, officials said.The Florida Department of Law Enforcement, or FDLE, is investigating the shooting with the Florida Highway Patrol. FDLE Commissioner Mark Glass said during a news conference Monday afternoon that Tampa police had responded to a domestic dispute between Ramirez and his wife earlier Sunday at the hotel where the conference was being held. Ramirez left the hotel, and suffered a self-inflicted gunshot wound after pulling over on Interstate 75 south of Tampa, Glass said.“Law enforcement is a demanding and stressful career and occupation,” Glass said. “And Director Ramirez has dedicated nearly 30 years of his life to public service and keeping the citizens of Miami-Dade ...

Pat Hughes had a special message for Cubs fans in Cooperstown

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 13:17:00 GMT

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. — It was a special weekend for one of the most recognizable voices in the history of Chicago sports broadcasting in Cooperstown. Pat Hughes has had a number of honors in his career - but none bigger than the one he got on Saturday. (Courtesy: MLB Network)The longtime radio play-by-play announcer for the Cubs was honored as the 2023 Ford C. Frick Award winner for broadcasting excellence at the Glimmerglass Opera Theater. It was part of the Baseball Hall of Fame's 74th induction ceremony weekend for the Class of 2023. One of the players that Hughes called games for as a member of the Cubs, first baseman Fred McGriff, joined former Cardinals & Reds third baseman Scott Rolen in being enshrined in the Hall of Fame on Sunday. He's currently in his 27th season as the voice of Cubs' baseball on the radio and occasionally on television as well. Hughes has had the chance to call games for nine playoff teams and is the only radio broadcaster in team history to broadcast t...