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Battenfeld: Healey on the national hot seat as migrant shelter crisis worsens

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:18:27 GMT

Gov. Maura Healey is on the hot seat dealing with a flood of migrant families into the state and if the shelter crisis worsens or explodes her national reputation could be at stake.With an estimated 22,000 homeless people – half of them migrants – including children, crowded into shelters, motels and even colleges, and communities in an uproar, the seemingly unflappable Healey is under pressure to keep Massachusetts from becoming another New York City disaster.The Democratic governor has been trying to use the crisis to raise her national profile but that could backfire if the Bay State becomes a poster child for migrant settlement gone wrong.In what should be a warning to the Healey administration, a small fire broke out at a motel housing migrants in Sutton. The motel occupants were evacuated and it could have been much worse.Even the Democratic Legislature is now raising questions about the real cost of housing tens of thousands of migrants and Healey’s transparency.The Healey ad...

Suspect in fatal shootings of 4 people in suburban Chicago dead after car crash in Oklahoma

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:18:27 GMT

By KEN KUSMER and COREY WILLIAMSA suspect in the shooting deaths of a suburban Chicago couple and their two children died in a fiery crash Wednesday in Oklahoma, police said.Nathaniel Huey Jr., 32, of Streamwood, Illinois, was suspected in the deaths of Alberto Rolon, Zoraida Bartolomei and their two children, ages 7 and 9, whose names have not been released. The victims were believed to have been shot between Saturday night and early Sunday in their home in Romeoville, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) southwest of Chicago.There was a relationship between the victims and Huey, Romeoville Police Deputy Chief Chris Burne told reporters at a news conference, without elaborating. Burne further said investigators have developed a possible motive for the shootings without disclosing what it is.Huey tried to elude authorities after a digital license plate detector spotted the vehicle in Catoosa, Oklahoma, but he crashed the vehicle and it caught on fire, Burne said.“Officers on scene h...

Senate confirms chairman of joint chiefs as GOP senator still blocking hundreds of military nominees

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:18:27 GMT

By MARY CLARE JALONICK and TARA COPP (Associated Press)WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate on Wednesday confirmed Gen. CQ Brown as the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, putting him in place to succeed Gen. Mark Milley when he retires at the end of the month. Brown’s confirmation on a 83-11 vote, months after President Joe Biden nominated him for the post, comes as Democrats try to maneuver around holds placed on hundreds of nominations by Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville over the Pentagon’s abortion policy. The Senate is also expected to confirm Gen. Randy George to be Army Chief of Staff and Gen. Eric Smith as commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps this week. Tuberville has been blocking the Senate from the routine process of approving military nominations in groups, frustrating Democrats who had said they would not go through the time-consuming process of bringing up individual nominations for a vote. More than 300 nominees are still stalled amid Tuberville’s ...

Federal appeals court reverses ruling that found Mississippi discriminated in mental health care

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:18:27 GMT

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A federal appeals court has overturned a lower court ruling that found Mississippi relies too much on institutionalizing people with mental health conditions rather than providing care in their communities.The decision came Wednesday from three judges on the conservative 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. They wrote that the federal government, which sued Mississippi, failed to prove that the state discriminated against people with mental health conditions in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act.The appeals court judges also wrote that a remedial order by U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves, which sought to make changes in Mississippi’s mental health system, “vastly exceeds the scope of claimed liability.”Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch’s office argued that the appeals court should overturn the district judge’s ruling. Republican Fitch applauded the ruling Wednesday, saying federal agencies have used the threat of laws...

1 critically injured in Oshawa roll-over crash

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:18:27 GMT

One person is in hospital with life-threatening injuries after their vehicle rolled over on Highway 407 in Oshawa.Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) Sgt. Kerry Schmidt says it happened around 5 p.m. in the eastbound lanes at Simcoe Street.One person suffered critical injuries in the crash.Hwy. 407 is blocked at Simcoe Street for the investigation. It’s unclear when lanes will reopen.Serious injury collision: EB #Hwy407/Simcoe St blocked for rollover collision investigation. #TorontoOPP investigating. Any witnesses call 416-235-4981 ^ks pic.twitter.com/g5XL7H0obu— OPP Highway Safety Division (@OPP_HSD) September 20, 2023

Ohio police response to child’s explicit photos sparks backlash and criticism over potential charges

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:18:27 GMT

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A Columbus police officer repeatedly asserts that an 11-year-old girl could be charged with creating child sexual abuse images of herself and sending those pictures to an adult man, in body camera footage obtained by The Associated Press.The footage sheds more light on an interaction between officers and a parent concerned about his child’s safety who was told that his daughter could face charges despite being a victim. The parent posted to TikTok a now-viral security video of the conversation, which has generated widespread criticism of the police’s response.Two officers responded to a call on Sept. 15 from a father who said hours earlier that he had found photos and messages on his daughter’s phone. He asked for a female officer to talk to his daughter.The officers’ conduct is being investigated, as well as any crime that may have been committed against the girl, Columbus Police Chief Elaine Bryant said in a statement Tuesday. She also said ...

After leaving bipartisan voting information group, Virginia announces new data-sharing agreements

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:18:27 GMT

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Months after withdrawing from a data-sharing interstate compact to fight voter fraud, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s administration on Wednesday announced a series of recent steps it has taken to improve the accuracy of the state’s voter rolls. Among them is the launch of new, individual data-sharing agreements with five other states and Washington, D.C., the Virginia Department of Elections said in a news release. The six agreements will enable Virginia to “securely compare voter lists” with Washington, Georgia, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia and “identify potential voter fraud” and duplicate registrations, the Department of Elections said in a news release. “Secure elections start with accurate voter lists,” Elections Commissioner Susan Beals said Wednesday, two days before the start of early voting in this year’s legislative elections. “Virginia now updates our voter list using data coming directly from one-to-one data sha...

Judge orders Phoenix to permanently clear the city’s largest homeless encampment by Nov. 4

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:18:27 GMT

PHOENIX (AP) — A judge ruled Wednesday that Phoenix must permanently clear the city’s largest homeless encampment by Nov. 4.City officials began shutting down the homeless encampment known as “The Zone” in May under an order by Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Scott Blaney, but they had asked to be given until April 2024 to complete the job.Justin Pierce, a lawyer representing the city, said in July that parts of the encampment on the edge of downtown Phoenix have been cleared since a judge declared the area to be a public nuisance, but other blocks still need to be addressed.Pierce added that the process takes time, including making sure those who live there have somewhere else to go.He said Phoenix is developing a space nearby with tents and temporary restroom facilities as an alternative, has increased the number of police officers working in the area and has nearly tripled its funding on confronting issues of homelessness.Business owners and residents near the encampment hav...

Four young B.C. firefighters heading home die in head-on crash on highway: RCMP

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:18:27 GMT

Four young men travelling home after helping in the battle against wildfires in central British Columbia are dead after a fiery head-on crash, police and provincial officials said Wednesday.RCMP Cpl. James Grandy said emergency crews responded around 2 a.m. Tuesday to the crash on Highway 1 east of Cache Creek in the province’s southern Interior.A B.C. government statement said the men were heading home after aiding wildfire response efforts in the Vanderhoof area, west of Prince George.Grandy said the initial investigation suggests a Ford F-350 pick-up truck the young men were travelling in failed to navigate a bend in the highway and slammed head-on into a semi-truck travelling in the opposite direction.The semi-truck caught fire, but the driver was able to escape before the vehicle was “engulfed,” the Mounties said in a statement.All four men inside the pick-up truck, who Grandy said were from communities across B.C., died at the scene. They have been identified...

Debate over a Black student’s suspension over his hairstyle in Texas ramps up with probe and lawsuit

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:18:27 GMT

HOUSTON (AP) — The debate over whether a Black high school student in Texas should be serving in-school suspension for wearing twisted dreadlocks to class intensified this week as the student’s family and his school district both took legal action.Darryl George, 17, a junior at Barbers Hill High School in Mont Belvieu, has been serving an in-school suspension since Aug. 31 at the Houston-area school. School officials say his dreadlocks fall below his eyebrows and ear lobes and violate the district’s dress code. George’s mother, Darresha George, and the family’s attorney deny the teenager’s hairstyle violates the Barbers Hill Independent School District dress code and have accused the district of violating a new state law that outlaws racial discrimination based on hairstyles. The new law, the CROWN Act, took effect Sept. 1. On Tuesday, Darresha George and her attorney filed a formal complaint with the Texas Education Agency, alleging that Darryl George was being harassed and mistrea...