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Battenfeld: Social disorder in American cities threatens to damage Biden re-election hopes

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:17:39 GMT

Lawlessness and random violent attacks across American cities – forcing stores to close and city officials to confront the problem – could become a key issue in 2024 and hurt the Biden campaign’s claims of economic recovery.The sense of social disorder – occurring primarily in Democratic-led cities – could come back to bite Democrats running for office.The shocking ransacking of stores like Apple in Philadelphia this week by gangs of teenagers and others is just the latest example of urban unrest. Retail giant Target just announced it was closing nine stores in several cities due to rampant shoplifting and threats of violence.“This was a sickening display of opportunistic criminal activity, and we will not stand for it,” Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney said.Philadelphia police officials said about 20 people were arrested Tuesday night for the looting, which was captured on video for all to see the looters acting without seeming fear of being caught or punished.Among the stores closed ...

Woman pushing shopping cart killed in hit-and-run

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:17:39 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- San Diego police are seeking the public's help to identify the suspect in a hit-and-run collision earlier this month that killed a pedestrian.The crash happened Friday at about 8:30 p.m. on the 5700 block of Division Street in the Alta Vista neighborhood, SDPD said. The pedestrian, described as a 42-year-old woman, was pushing a shopping cart in the street along the right shoulder of eastbound lanes when a vehicle traveling in the same direction hit her. The driver then fled the scene. According to SDPD, the pedestrian sustained fatal injuries in the collision and was pronounced dead by medical personnel at the scene. Her identity has not been disclosed at this time. Kitten rescue attempt on Coronado Bridge causes three-car crash After a preliminary investigation, officers were able to narrow down a vehicle description from witness accounts, surveillance video and other evidence collected at the scene.Investigators believe the suspect vehicle is a 2011 to 2015 Chevrol...

Republican debate live updates: Trump takes Michigan stage as rivals prep in California

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:17:39 GMT

Republican presidential candidates are looking for breakout moments and voters' attention when they meet Wednesday night in Simi Valley, Calif., for the second primary debate. It starts just an hour after the 2024 front-runner headlines an event in Michigan.Seven candidates, all polling well behind former President Trump, met the Republican National Committee (RNC) criteria to participate: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, conservative entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, former Vice President Mike Pence, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum.Trump, meanwhile, is again not joining the debate. Instead, he will be at an 8 p.m. event near Detroit meeting with current and former union workers amid their ongoing strike against three major automakers — Ford, General Motors and Stellantis.The debate starts at 9 p.m. on Fox Business Network. Find out how to watch it...

Biden isn’t paying much attention to the 2024 GOP debate. He’s already zeroing in on Trump

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:17:39 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — President Joe Biden raised campaign cash in San Francisco on Wednesday while seven Republican presidential hopefuls prepared to hold a debate down the coast in Simi Valley. Biden isn’t paying them much attention because he’s already zeroing in on Donald Trump, the GOP front-runner who won’t be on the stage.Biden has been increasingly calling out Trump by name and referring to him as his “likely opponent” in 2024, signaling a likely rematch from four years earlier and warning of what the Democratic incumbent sees as major dangers to the nation if he is not reelected. ”Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans are determined to destroy this democracy,” Biden said Tuesday night during a California fundraiser, referring to a Trump campaign slogan, as he skipped entirely over Trump’s GOP rivals.Biden’s trip to the West this week is counterprogramming of sorts as a government shutdown looms, House Republicans launch impeachment hearings, the ...

Disney World government will give employees stipend after backlash for taking away park passes

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:17:39 GMT

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Facing a backlash, Walt Disney World’s governing district will pay a stipend to employees whose free passes and discounts to the theme park resort were eliminated under a policy made by a new district administrator and board members who are allies of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.The stipend will be $3,000 a year, which is around the equivalent value of the theme park passes, Glen Gilzean, district administrator of the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District, told board members during a meeting Wednesday evening. The board then unanimously approved the stipend.Board members said they had taken to heart the criticism of employees who said the free passes gave them lasting memories with their families and allowed relatives to see the fruits of their work. Without the free passes, the parks would be unaffordable, many employees said.“We heard you and have worked to respond accordingly,” said board member Ron Peri.Employees had enjoyed the perk for decades when...

Winnipeg man pleads guilty to manslaughter in the death of Saskatchewan RCMP officer

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:17:39 GMT

REGINA — The mother of a Saskatchewan RCMP officer who was killed two years ago says it was “hell” to watch a Winnipeg man plead guilty to manslaughter in her son’s death.Alphonse Stanley Traverse pleaded guilty on Wednesday to the charge in Regina Court of King’s Bench for his role in Const. Shelby Patton’s death. Traverse also pleaded guilty to a charge of stealing a motor vehicle. “It’s very traumatic,” Melanie Patton, the mother of the 26-year-old Mountie, said in an interview. “It’s better than sitting through a trial, but at the same time there’s so much trauma and we’re not going to recover. It’s like I’m living in hell.”Shelby Patton was killed more than two years ago when he attempted to stop a stolen truck, driven by Traverse, near the town of Wolseley, east of Regina.According to an agreed statement of facts, Traverse had been driving from Winnipeg to Saskatchewan in June 2021 to play VLTs. He was with Marlene Pagee at the time, and they chose to go to Saskatc...

ExxonMobil loses bid to truck millions of gallons of crude oil through central California

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:17:39 GMT

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (AP) — ExxonMobil lost a court bid Wednesday to truck millions of gallons of crude oil through central California — a crucial part of its efforts to restart offshore oil wells that were shut in 2015 after a pipeline leak caused the worst coastal spill in 25 years.A federal judge refused to overturn a 2022 decision by the Santa Barbara County Board Supervisors that denied ExxonMobil’s request to use trucks to carry crude from the three wells. A request for comment from ExxonMobil about the decision wasn’t immediately returned.The pipeline was shut down on May 19, 2015, when a corroded section above ground and running west of Santa Barbara ruptured, sending 140,000 gallons (529,958 liters) of oil onto a state beach and into the ocean.Three decades-old drilling platforms were shuttered in the wake of the disaster.ExxonMobil proposed sending up to 24,820 tanker trucks a year on coastal Highway 101 and and State Route 166 for up to seven years, arguing that wa...

Jenniffer González, Puerto Rico’s resident commissioner, to challenge island’s governor in primary

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:17:39 GMT

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Puerto Rico’s representative in Congress, Jenniffer González, announced Wednesday that she will run for governor of the U.S. territory.She is expected to face Gov. Pedro Pierluisi next year in what is anticipated to be a heated primary of the pro-statehood Progressive New Party. González previously ran with Pierluisi on the 2020 ticket.Pierluisi, 64, has said he will seek re-election and is scheduled to make an official announcement on Sunday.González, 47, said her priorities include strengthening the island’s health system, improving the education sector and ensuring swift reconstruction of the territory’s power grid that was razed by Hurricane Maria in 2017.González is Puerto Rico’s first female resident commissioner and was first elected in November 2016, succeeding Pierluisi.González’s announcement comes more than a week after she announced she was pregnant with twins.The winner of the PNP primary will face leaders of several opposition parties, incl...

Chinese immigrant workers sue over forced labor at illegal marijuana operation on Navajo land

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:17:39 GMT

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Chinese immigrant workers allege they were lured to northern New Mexico under false pretenses and forced to work 14 hours a day trimming marijuana on the Navajo Nation where cultivating the plant is illegal, according to a lawsuit filed Wednesday in state court.Job advertisements for the operation in Shiprock promised $200 per day, housing and food in exchange for “gardening” and “flower cutting.” But when the workers arrived in New Mexico, the complaint says, their phones and car keys were taken away, they were barred from leaving and, in some instances, family members were separated.In a statement Wednesday, lawyers for the 15 workers said their clients were treated like animals and commended their bravery for coming forward.“Ending forced labor requires that the perpetrators of forced labor and those who seek to benefit from such schemes face serious consequences,” attorney Aaron Halegua said. “We hope that this lawsuit will demonstrate that s...

British Columbia expects ‘enhanced masking’ in health-care settings, Dix says

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:17:39 GMT

VANCOUVER — British Columbia Health Minister Adrian Dix says an announcement is coming Thursday on new rules for the province’s health-care facilities, include masking.Dix did not provide any specifics Wednesday, but said provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry will be taking people through the evidence and make recommendations both for citizens’ daily lives and the health-care system “that will be implemented.”Dix says the province has previously stated it would expect “enhanced masking” in health-care settings for the respiratory illness season in the fall but did not say whether the new rules will be mandatory.The minister says ensuring people who are already sick in hospital have the maximum protection possible during the season is important.The minister says Thursday’s announcement will also include details of the province’s fall vaccine campaign for both COVID-19 and influenza.In April, the province ended its universal mask ma...