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State leaders speak to U.S. House dysfunction as migrant crisis reaches breaking point

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 09:28:47 GMT

Massachusetts is in desperate need of federal help to address the worsening migrant crisis, state leaders said Monday afternoon — help indefinitely held up by the dysfunction in the U.S. House of Representatives.“I mean this with all sincerity, if you’re expecting money to come out of Washington now you might as well go buy a bridge in New York City because chances of both are the same,” said state House Speaker Ronald Mariano at a press availability Monday afternoon, referring to the U.S. House’s inability to elect a Speaker over the last nearly three weeks and return to work.Gov. Maura Healey announced the state’s shelters will reach capacity by the end of the month last week and called on federal action including emergency funding and expedited work authorizations.Massachusetts is the only right-to-shelter state, meaning the government is required to provide emergency shelter to families with children, and the recent influx of migrant families ...

Harvard student group to protest Riley Gaines’ Speak Louder Campus Tour

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 09:28:47 GMT

Twelve-time All-American swimmer Riley Gaines is scheduled to make a presentation at Harvard this week, “to encourage college students to speak-up for our fundamental right to free speech, for truth and for women.”A student group dubbed TransHarvard, however, is looking to “challenge the anti-trans athlete discussions being brought to campus.”Gaines, an advocate for women’s rights, particularly for female athletes, rose to national fame when the former University of Kentucky swimmer tied for fifth place in the 200-yard freestyle at the 2022 NCAA Championships with Lia Thomas, who became the first openly transgender athlete to win a Division I national championship.Gaines is bringing her Speak Louder Campus Tour to Harvard on Thursday at 7 p.m., a talk that “focuses on encouraging the next generation to fight for our fundamental rights and for fairness,” according to a release promoting the event.“Women have been stripped of opportunities to fairly compete in sports; denied scholarsh...

Ticker: Senate confirms new FAA chief; Visa profits grow on digital economy

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 09:28:47 GMT

The Senate voted 98-0 to approve President Biden’s nominee to lead the Federal Aviation Administration on Tuesday, ending a span of nearly 19 months in which the agency was without a Senate-confirmed chief.Michael Whitaker is a former deputy FAA administrator and most recently served as chief operating officer of a Hyundai affiliate that is developing an air taxi.Whitaker will take over an agency that faces many challenges, including a surge in close calls between planes at major airports, a shortage of air traffic controllers, and aging technology that resulted in a brief nationwide halt in flights in January.Whitaker was Biden’s second choice for the job. The nomination of Denver International Airport CEO Phil Washington languished for months, then failed to get out of the Commerce Committee because of opposition from Republicans and independent Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona.Visa profits grow on digital economyPayments processing giant Visa Inc. posted an 18% rise in its f...

Prep basketball star Mikey Williams to face 3 additional charges in shooting case

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 09:28:47 GMT

EL CAJON, Calif. (AP) — Star Memphis basketball recruit Mikey Williams is facing three additional felony charges in a March 27 shooting and was ordered to personally appear in court on Friday for arraignment on nine total charges.Williams was scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday, when Superior Court Judge Kathleen M. Lewis seemed surprised that he and new co-counsel Randy Grossman appeared via teleconference rather than in person. Grossman said Williams' other attorney, Troy Owens, was busy with a murder case and had contacted the district attorney's office rather than the court to request to appear via videoconference.Deputy District Attorney George Modlin said he preferred that Williams and his attorney appear in person due to the additional charges and because he wanted to address Williams' bail status. Lewis ordered Williams to appear Friday.Williams was present for a preliminary hearing on Oct. 10, when Judge Sherry M. Thompson-Taylor ordered him to stand trial. She also denied th...

Judge strikes down recent NYC rules restricting gun licensing as unconstitutional

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 09:28:47 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — A federal judge on Tuesday struck down recent provisions in New York City’s gun restrictions as unconstitutional, saying officials have been allowed too much discretion to deny gun permits to people deemed “not of good moral character.”Judge John P. Cronan in Manhattan said in a written ruling that the “magnitude of discretion” afforded to city gun licensing officials under facets of the city’s administrative code violated the Constitution’s 2nd and 14th amendments.In particular, the judge cited provisions empowering officials to evaluate an applicant’s “good moral character” and whether “good cause exists for the denial” of gun permits.The ruling added the city to the growing number of municipalities nationwide whose gun restrictions have been struck down after a landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling in June 2022 found that Americans have a right to carry firearms in public for self-defense.The Supreme Court’s so-called Bruen decision, which struck do...

Sept. 2024 date set for trial of 2 teens as adults in fatal Vegas bicyclist crash seen on video

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 09:28:47 GMT

LAS VEGAS (AP) — A September 2024 date has been set for the trial of two teenagers being prosecuted as adults on murder and other charges in the fatal video-recorded crash of an allegedly stolen car into a bicyclist in Las Vegas.The teens, ages 18 and 16, have each pleaded not guilty to multiple felony charges alleging they acted together in a series of car thefts and hit-and-run vehicle incidents early Aug. 14 — including the apparently intentional striking of bicyclist Andreas “Andy” Probst.Attorney David Westbrook, representing the 18-year-old, said outside court he intends to seek the release of his client from jail pending trial. Attorney Daniel Hill, representing the 16-year-old, did not respond to messages seeking comment.The Associated Press is not naming the teens due to their ages at the time of the alleged crimes.The older defendant was 17 when he was arrested after the crash that killed Probst, a retired police chief from the Los Angeles-area city of Bell. The younger te...

B.C. helicopter lands safely after being hit by lightning, Helijet says

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 09:28:47 GMT

VICTORIA — A commercial helicopter with 14 people on board landed safely in Victoria on Tuesday after it was hit by lightning.Rick Hill, the vice-president of Helijet, said the aircraft was at about 1,200 metres when it was hit by lightning, the two pilots on board took the chopper down to below the clouds and then landed without trouble in Victoria a few minutes later. Hill said such an event is very, very rare, and in his 36 years of experiences, it’s only happened twice. He said there were no injuries, although he’s sure that such an incident would certainly shake up those on board. Hill said there was some damage to the aircraft, including the tail rotor, but the two pilots on board did a great job in handling the rare situation. “I think they really did a fabulous job and relied on that training and were able to safely bring everybody to their destination,” said Hill. Hill said staff on the ground spoke to passengers to ensure no one was hurt.The damaged...

AI-generated child sexual abuse images could flood the internet. A watchdog is calling for action

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 09:28:47 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — The already-alarming proliferation of child sexual abuse images on the internet could become much worse if something is not done to put controls on artificial intelligence tools that generate deepfake photos, a watchdog agency warned on Tuesday. In a written report, The U.K.-based Internet Watch Foundation urges governments and technology providers to act quickly before a flood of AI-generated images of child sexual abuse overwhelms law enforcement investigators and vastly expands the pool of potential victims.“We’re not talking about the harm it might do,” said Dan Sexton, the watchdog group’s chief technology officer. “This is happening right now and it needs to be addressed right now.”In a first-of-its-kind case in South Korea, a man was sentenced in September to 2 1/2 years in prison for using artificial intelligence to create 360 virtual child abuse images, according to the Busan District Court in the country’s southeast. In some cases, kids are usin...

Toronto sees 72% jump in lithium-ion battery fires, but what’s being done to address safety?

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 09:28:47 GMT

As Toronto Fire Services reports another noticeable jump of lithium-ion battery fires in mobility devices, it raises questions about what’s being done to address the emerging safety concerns.The most recent fire happened in downtown Toronto near Yonge and Church streets on Sunday after an e-bike battery caught fire in a residential building. Two people had to be treated for smoke inhalation. The cause and circumstances of the fire are still under investigation.In all of 2022, there were 29 fires linked to lithium-ion batteries. However, there have been 50 such fires so far in 2023.CityNews spoke with Toronto Fire Services deputy chief Larry Cocco to talk about the increase in incidents. He said the three typical causes are thermal (overheated), electrical (overcharged or charged with substandard equipment) or physical (damaged batteries) failures.“The devices that are manufactured correctly and maintained correctly, we’re not seeing the problem. What we’re se...

Maryland judge heard ‘shocking’ evidence in divorce case hours before his killing, tapes show

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 09:28:47 GMT

HAGERSTOWN, Md. (AP) — Pedro Argote was conspicuously absent last Thursday when a Maryland judge granted his wife a divorce and sole custody of their four children, citing “shocking” testimony about the abuse that Argote allegedly inflicted upon them for years. But later that day, authorities say, Argote showed up at Judge Andrew Wilkinson’s home and shot him to death in his driveway. Now a wanted man, Argote remains at large amid a law enforcement search spanning several states. Wilkinson ruled against Argote after hearing testimony from his wife and an adult daughter, who said he controlled every aspect of their lives, keeping them isolated and subjecting them to various acts of violence in recent years. Police have pointed to the judge’s decision as a motive for the shooting, which sent a shock wave through Maryland’s legal community. An audio recording of the hearing didn’t capture any obvious warning signs that Argote posed a danger to anyone outside his family, but it does pro...