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US cities hope crime strategies keep homicide numbers dropping and prevent summer surge

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:56:42 GMT

By KATHLEEN FOODY (Associated Press)CHICAGO (AP) — An expected bump in violent crime this summer has mayors and police officials around the U.S. rolling out familiar strategies of making officers more visible and engaging with community groups, in some cases leaning on civilians to enforce curfews and keep the peace.Chicago is among the U.S. cities under scrutiny following a mayoral race that focused on public safety in response to demands for change. Violence often surges during summer months, so this holiday weekend will undoubtedly ramp up pressure on Mayor Brandon Johnson’s new administration to deliver short-term improvement along with the long-term strategies that the former union organizer advocated while campaigning to lead the nation’s third-largest city.“It’s going to take all of us, not just the police, not just city government, to ensure that our communities can live and thrive in peace and safety,” Johnson said at a lakefront press co...

1 dead after cement bags fell onto vehicle from overturned truck on I-805

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:56:42 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- One person is dead after bags of cement fell onto their vehicle from an overturned truck on an Interstate 805 offramp in Clairemont Friday afternoon, according to California Highway Patrol.The incident happened shortly before 1 p.m. According to CHP, the truck was traveling on the southbound side of the freeway when it overturned on the eastbound State Route 52 ramp.During the crash, CHP reported the truck spilled bags of cement and other materials onto the roadway, striking a gray SUV on the eastbound lanes below. The driver of the SUV was declared dead on scene.A section of SR-52 was closed following the collision, as well as the ramp between the two major arteries. The eastbound SR-52 closure has since been lifted, according to CHP.A Sig Alert was issued at 2:54 p.m. for the southbound I-805 lanes. Traffic is being diverted to the westbound SR-52 lanes. Delays up to 10 minutes are expected in the area, as of 3:15 p.m.At this time, it is not known what caused the truc...

Southwest pilot climbs through cockpit window after after getting locked out

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:56:42 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- A Southwest Airlines pilot had to take an unexpected measure to get onto a Sacramento-bound plane at San Diego International Airport Wednesday: he climbed through the cockpit window.Matt Rexroad, a passenger on Wednesday's 5 p.m. flight, snapped a picture of the pilot squeezing through the window of the front of the plane ahead of the flight's departure, which he then posted to Twitter.The pilot of a Sacramento-bound plane at a gate in San Diego International Airport climbs through a window after getting locked out on May 24, 2023. (Courtesy of Matt Rexroad)The pilot had been locked out of the cockpit after a customer had accidentally closed the door during the boarding process, according to a statement from a Southwest spokesperson." … while other Customers and Flight Attendants were onboard, a Customer opened the forward lavatory door and inadvertently pushed the Flight Deck door closed (which locked) while the Pilots scheduled to operate the flight were preparing to ...

Brazil: UN regional group has endorsed Amazon city to host 2025 climate conference

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:56:42 GMT

SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazil’s government announced Friday that a U.N. Latin America regional group has endorsed a Brazilian city in the Amazon region to host the 2025 U.N. climate change conference, though the world body has not yet publicly confirmed the venue.President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva initially said Brazil will hold the conference, known as COP 30, in the city of Belem, state of Para, in the heart of the Brazilian rainforest, reflecting his intention to bring attention to the Amazon.A statement from the Brazilian government later clarified that the region’s support was merely a step in the selection process. The “support for the Brazilian candidacy demonstrates the region’s confidence in Brazil’s capacity to advance the agenda in the fight against climate change,” the statement read.The latest U.N. climate conference was hosted by Egypt in Sharm el-Sheikh, and this year’s will take place in Dubai. The U.N. has not yet announced the 2024 venue, let alone the 2025 one, b...

As Toronto’s Little Portugal faces changes, the ongoing push to protect the area’s heritage

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:56:42 GMT

Little Portugal on Dundas Street West has been a hub for Toronto’s Portuguese and Lusophone communities for decades, but like many other culturally distinct neighbourhoods in the city is changing with redevelopment and other factors.Bairrada Churrasqueira Grill is a 34-year Portuguese restaurant mainstay that has grown to three locations in and around Little Portugal. The location on College Street is the biggest, boasting a 4,000-square-foot patio. Regardless of the locale, their mission is serving up authentic cuisine to the masses.At the restaurant near Sheridan Avenue and Dundas Street West, general manager Denis Pirez and members of his team were working to get ready for the day as CityNews visited. Day in and day out, preparations often involve roasting mouthwatering piri piri chicken — a staple in Portuguese cuisine. “It’s the sauce that really makes the chicken and it’s a special recipe that we’ve had in our family for probably 80 years,&#...

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

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:56:42 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 Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:56:42 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 Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:56:42 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 Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:56:42 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 Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:56:42 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...