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Phoenix faces dueling lawsuits over homeless crisis as advocates scramble for more shelter

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 18:59:11 GMT

PHOENIX (AP) — Phoenix is facing dueling lawsuits as it tries to manage a crisis of homelessness that has converted its downtown into a tent city housing hundreds of people as summer temperatures soar. The city was ordered by the local Superior Court to clear out the downtown encampment because it is considered a “public nuisance.” But Arizona’s American Civil Liberties Union argued in a federal lawsuit that the city is violating the constitutional rights of unhoused people by slowly clearing the area known as “The Zone.”The dilemma faced by Phoenix is an example of the balance municipalities across the United States now must strike when trying to satisfy the demands of residents and business owners while respecting the rights of homeless people. Seattle faced a similar situation in 2020 when a woman sued the city, alleging that a sweep of the homeless encampment where she lived would violate her rights.In New Mexico, as the city of Albuquerque worked to prohibit panhandling a...

Loblaw winding down third-party marketplace, focusing on pharmacy and grocery online

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 18:59:11 GMT

Loblaw Companies Ltd. says it’s shutting down its third-party marketplace.Spokeswoman Catherine Thomas has confirmed in a statement that the company will be winding down the marketplace. Loblaw launched the online marketplace in late 2019 to include new vendors through its PC Express service, offering items in the baby, toy, home, kitchen and pet categories.The company said at the time that it would offer brands like Umbra and Lennox Furniture Inc. to provide shoppers with a curated assortment of products. Thomas says Loblaw launched its online marketplace to understand how those products could complement the company’s offerings online.She says the company has learned a lot about what customers are shopping for online, but that given the rapid change in e-commerce over the past three years, Loblaw has decided to focus on its grocery and pharmacy online shopping experiences.This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 26, 2023.Companies in this story: (TSX:L)...

Iowa governor signs bill loosening child labor laws

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 18:59:11 GMT

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa teenagers could work more jobs and for longer hours under a bill signed into law Friday by Gov. Kim Reynolds. The Republican governor signed the law after it was approved by the Legislature earlier in May with only Republican support. Several states are embracing a rollback of child labor laws in response to complaints from business owners that they can’t find enough workers. Iowa’s April unemployment rate was 2.7%.“With this legislation Iowa joins 20 other states in providing tailored, common sense labor provisions that allow young adults to develop their skills in the workforce,” Reynolds said in a statement.Child welfare advocates worry the measures represent a coordinated push to scale back hard-won protections for minors.Legislators removed language in earlier versions of the bill that would have let state officials allow 14- and 15-year-olds to work in jobs now banned for minors. Some potentially dangerous work such as mining and ...

US has treaty duty to fund policing on Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, judge rules

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 18:59:11 GMT

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A federal judge has ruled that the U.S. government has a treaty obligation to support law enforcement on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, but declined for now to determine whether the Oglala Sioux Tribe is entitled to as much funding as it’s seeking.Tribal leaders depicted the ruling as a victory, saying the important point is that the court confirmed that the federal government has a duty to fund policing on the reservation and ordered U.S. officials to meet with Oglala Sioux leaders “to work together promptly to figure out how to more fairly fund tribal law enforcement.”The outcome of the case could affect other reservations, including some where Native women are killed at a rate more than 10 times the national average. The Northern Cheyenne Tribe in Montana has filed a similar lawsuit.Oglala Sioux officials contend the tribe is entitled to federal funding for 120 fully equipped officers for the sprawling Pine Ridge Reservation, something ...

Federal invasive species fund opens to new projects

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 18:59:11 GMT

VANCOUVER — The federal government is set to begin accepting proposals to spend the remaining money in a multimillion-dollar fund aimed at fighting invasive species across Canada.Fisheries Minister Joyce Murray says the $8.75-million Aquatic Invasive Species Prevention Fund is aimed at raising public awareness and working to stop the threat of non-native freshwater and marine species.Last fiscal year, $3.3 million from the fund went to eight multi-year projects including work by the Pacific Salmon Foundation to fight the invasive European green crab in B.C.’s Salish Sea. The foundation’s CEO, Mike Meneer, says the $750,000 it is getting over three years is going towards work to eradicate the crabs, which compete with native species and invade habitats.A call for proposals to spend the remaining money between now and 2026-27 opens Monday and runs until Aug. 31.Murray says the fund is part of $36.6 million the government has earmarked to fight invasive species over five ye...

EU official says Twitter abandons bloc’s code of practice on disinformation

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 18:59:11 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Twitter has dropped out of a voluntary European Union agreement to combat online disinformation, a top EU official said Friday.European Commissioner Thierry Breton tweeted that Twitter had pulled out of the EU’s disinformation “code of practice” that other major social media platforms have pledged to support. But he added that Twitter’s “obligation” remained, referring to the EU’s tough new digital rules taking effect in August.“You can run but you can’t hide,” Breton said.San Francisco-based Twitter responded with an automated reply, as it does to most press inquiries, and did not comment.The decision to abandon the commitment to fighting false information appears to be the latest move by billionaire owner Elon Musk to loosen the reins on the social media company after he bought it last year. He has rolled back previous anti-misinformation rules, and has thrown its verification system and content-moderation policies into chaos as he pursues his goal ...

US: Chinese agents paid bribes in plot to disrupt anti-communist Falun Gong movement

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 18:59:11 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. authorities have arrested two suspected Chinese government agents in connection with an alleged plot by Beijing to disrupt and ultimately topple the exiled anti-communist Falun Gong spiritual movement.John Chen and Lin Feng were charged in an indictment unsealed Friday with scheming to revoke a New York-based Falun Gong organization’s tax-exempt status and paying bribes to a undercover officer posing as a U.S. tax agent.The undercover officer recorded multiple conversations with Chen, and investigators obtained a wire tap to record phone calls in which Chen and Feng discussed instructions they purportedly received from Chinese government officials, prosecutors said.In one recording, prosecutors said, Chen referred to Chinese government officials as akin to “blood brothers” and, in another, he said Beijing would be “very generous” in rewarding the undercover officer’s help cracking down on Falun Gong’s non-profit status.Chen, a 70-year-old U.S. citize...

Videos, 911 calls capture frantic response to deadly New Mexico rampage

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 18:59:11 GMT

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Hundreds of frantic calls poured in to dispatchers about a barrage of gunfire and bloodied victims along a busy street during this month’s deadly shooting in Farmington, prompting authorities to rush to the chaotic scene not knowing what was in store.Breathless with guns drawn, officers rushed toward the gunman. More shots popped off, and an officer yelled, “Subject down! Cease fire, cease fire!” Another officer who had been shot in the leg was put in a patrol car and taken to a nearby hospital.The minutes that followed were a scramble as authorities searched the neighborhood for a possible second shooter, while other officers huddled to figure out how far the crime scene stretched and which vehicles had been hit by gunfire.Hours of police body and dash camera videos released Friday along with hundreds of dispatch recordings paint a vivid picture of the May 15 shooting that rocked the northwestern New Mexico community. Three women were killed and six o...

AAA projects Memorial Day weekend travel to be one of the busiest

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 18:59:11 GMT

CHICAGO — This Memorial Day weekend is projected to be one of the busiest for travel in decades.According to AAA, more than 42 million Americans are expected to travel over the holiday weekend. That's an increase of 7% compared to last year. FAA: Memorial Day air travel to peak Thursday. Here’s what you can do to prepare. While Thursday was expected to be the best air travel day, Friday is expected to be the busiest day on the roads, according to the FAA and INRIX.INRIX tracks transportation data and projects.AAA is projecting this Memorial Day weekend will be the third busiest since 2000 when the company started tracking holiday travel.Fuel prices are lower than they were last year for Memorial Day, so some people are willing to do longer road trips.Booking data from AA shows one of the top tourist destinations this year is New York City.Experts said those who plan to drive this weekend should plan to avoid driving during peak hours and use alternative routes when possible.

At least the Cubs avoided a no-hitter on another bad day at Wrigley Field

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 18:59:11 GMT

CHICAGO — The biggest moment for the Cubs on Friday afternoon at Wrigley Field was when they managed to avoid some team history.Christopher Morel stepped to the plate to lead off the eighth inning against Eduardo Salazar and got a base hit. That was significant because it was the first of the game for the Cubs, who'd been no-hit and shutdown for seven frames, with Hunter Greene pitching six of them. It brought out a loud cheer from the fans at Wrigley Field, but it was the only thing they would be able to root for during another terrible day for the team. For the second day in a row, the Cubs were blown out, this time 9-0 by the Reds to start the first of a four-game series. Couple with a sizable defeat to the Mets on Thursday, the Cubs have been outscored 19-1 in their last two games. Justin Steele, who's been a solid starter in the first two months of the year, was off his game as he allowed Cincinnati six runs, five of which were earned, on ten hits over 3 2/3 innings. Meanwhile,...