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State officials in Michigan scratched from lawsuit over lead in Benton Harbor’s water

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:57:42 GMT

BENTON HARBOR, Mich. (AP) — A federal judge on Thursday dismissed state officials from a lawsuit related to past lead contamination in a small southwestern Michigan city’s drinking water but said the case could proceed against city officials, including the mayor.Lawyers for residents compared Benton Harbor to Flint where lead contaminated the city’s water system in 2014-15. But U.S. District Judge Hala Jarbou said there were significant differences.The state had a hands-on role in switching Flint’s water source to the Flint River and then failing to order treatment to reduce corrosion from old pipes. But such a role wasn’t present in Benton Harbor.State regulators “did not create the city’s water problem,” Jarbou said.Jarbou said the lawsuit, which claims violations of federal rights, can proceed at this early stage against Mayor Marcus Muhammad, the city and former water plant director Michael O’Malley. They deny misleading the public about water quality.For...

Blinken meets Indian foreign minister as row between India and Canada simmers

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:57:42 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Thursday with India’s foreign minister amid a simmering row between New Delhi and Ottawa over allegations of Indian government involvement in the killing of a Sikh activist in Canada. Blinken and Subrahmanyam Jaishankar met Thursday at the State Department as the U.S. tries to navigate the dispute between its northern neighbor and the South Asian country critical to its Indo-Pacific strategy to counter China’s rising influence in the region. Neither man spoke to the controversy that has disrupted Canada-India relations in very brief comments to reporters. U.S. officials had said they expected the topic to be raised. “We have consistently engaged with the Indian government on this question and have urged them to cooperate,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said.Earlier Thursday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he had been told Blinken would address the matter and encourage the Indian government to coop...

GOP senators sharply question Pentagon nominee about Biden administration’s foreign policies

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:57:42 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Senate hearing Thursday on the nomination of the official to be the Pentagon’s top policy adviser was dominated by Republicans expressing their frustrations with the Biden administration’s foreign policies, from the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan to Ukraine funding and climate change.Republicans on the Senate Armed Services Committee grilled Derek Chollet, who has been serving as the counselor for the State Department, about mistakes the administration made in leaving Afghanistan and whether enough is being done to control the U.S.-Mexico border.Chollet has been nominated to be the next undersecretary of defense for policy. He served previously in the Pentagon as assistant secretary for international security from 2012 to 2015.Chollet urged continued support for Ukraine, said it is crucial for the United States to learn from the 20-year war in Afghanistan and the withdrawal, and agreed that America needs to have a safe and secure border, which is...

Mom of Colorado man killed by police after taking ‘heroic’ actions to stop gunman settles with city

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:57:42 GMT

DENVER (AP) — A Colorado city has reached a $2.8 million settlement in a lawsuit filed by the mother of a man killed by police in 2021 after taking heroic actions to stop a gunman who had shot another officer, a law firm announced Thursday.Kathleen Boleyn filed the lawsuit in June 2022, a year after the midday shootings in the main square of Olde Town Arvada, a historic shopping and entertainment area about 7 miles (10 kilometers) northwest of downtown Denver.Boleyn said her son, Johnny Hurley, ran toward danger and shot the gunman, Ronald Troyke, who had just fatally shot Officer Gordon Beesley. An investigation found Troyke, who died after Hurley shot him, was intent on killing as many officers as he could that day.The lawsuit said Hurley was crouched down with a rifle pointing down and not in a threatening position when he was shot, adding that a witness said Hurley was taking the magazine out of a rifle that he took away from the shooter.A district attorney investigation cleared...

New California law raises minimum wage for fast food workers to $20 per hour, among nation’s highest

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:57:42 GMT

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A new law in California will raise the minimum wage for fast food workers to $20 per hour next year, an acknowledgment from the state’s Democratic leaders that most of the often overlooked workforce are the primary earners for their low-income households.When it takes effect on April 1, fast food workers in California will have the highest guaranteed base salary in the industry. The state’s minimum wage for all other workers — $15.50 per hour — is already among the highest in the United States. Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the law Thursday amid a throng of cheering workers and labor leaders at an event in Los Angeles. Newsom dismissed the popular view that fast food jobs are meant for teenagers to have their first experience in the workforce.“That’s a romanticized version of a world that doesn’t exist,” Newsom said. “We have the opportunity to reward that contribution, reward that sacrifice and stabilize an industry.”Newsom’s signat...

A first is ahead for Connor Bedard on Thursday

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:57:42 GMT

CHICAGO — The No. 1 overall pick from the 2023 draft is going to have a first in his career in the National Hockey League on Thursday night.It won't be quite as exciting as a couple of weeks from now, but this will be the first time that Connor Bedard takes the ice at the United Center. That's because the Blackhawks are opening up the 2023 preseason against the Blues on Thursday, one of six exhibition games they'll play before their season opener in Pittsburgh on October 10. Bedard is on the roster for the contest against St. Louis as he takes the ice for the first time in a game against fellow NHL players. Earlier in September, the center took part in the first of two contests at the Tom Kurvers Prospect Showcase in St. Paul, Minnesota.During that contest against the Blues' best young players, Bedard registered a hat trick, further adding to the anticipation of the start of his Blackhawks' career. Included in that is head coach Luke Richardson, who got to see what the center could ...

Peruvian national charged with making more than 150 bomb threats to US schools, institutions

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:57:42 GMT

(The Hill) – A Peruvian national is accused of making more than 150 fake bomb threats to U.S. institutions, according to charges unsealed Thursday in the Southern District of New York.Eddie Manuel Nunez Santos, 33, allegedly targeted school districts, synagogues, airports, hospitals and a shopping mall across multiple states with the false bomb threats."There are multiple bombs placed inside of all the schools from your school district. The bombs will blow up in a few hours. I will make sure everybody dies and rots from the bombs and then I’ll gladly smile seeing their families suffer," he allegedly wrote in a Sept. 19 threat to multiple Pennsylvania school districts. The threat caused approximately 20 different schools in Pennsylvania to evacuate more than 1,100 schoolchildren, prosecutors said.The threats occurred between Sept. 15 and Sept. 21, and in some cases caused "massive disruptions" such as school evacuations, a hospital lockdown and flight delays, in the communities where...

Minnesota Zoo calls for teachers to apply to 2023 STEM Design Challenge

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:57:42 GMT

The Minnesota Zoo is kicking off its 10th annual ZOOMS STEM Design Challenge and calling teachers to apply.The ZOOMS STEM Design Challenge is a nationwide, yearlong project that challenges students to create solutions for zoo-based problems using the concepts of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.This year’s competition will feature bison and black-tailed prairie dogs and give students an opportunity to redesign the existing exhibits or come up with group-based enrichment for the animals, according to a news release from the Apple Valley zoo.“For 10 years, the ZOOMS STEM Design Challenge has given the next generation of problem-solvers the opportunity to grow their skills and envision STEM careers in this important field,” said John Frawley, director of the Minnesota Zoo and president of the Minnesota Zoo Foundation, in the release.The competition is sponsored by Flint Hills Resources, which operates the Pine Bend refinery in Rosemount. Flint Hills has been a partner o...

What's on the schedule at Ticonderoga HalloweenFest

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:57:42 GMT

TICONDEROGA, N.Y. (NEWS10) - The Ticonderoga area's annual Halloween festival is coming around for another spooky season of fun this year. The full schedule for HalloweenFest 2023 was released this week, full of pumpkin carving, music, and haunted history. Get the latest news, weather, sports and entertainment delivered right to your inbox! HalloweenFest includes:Friday, Oct. 206:30 - 8:30 p.m.: Halloween movie screening: "Hocus Pocus"Ticonderoga Area Farmers MarketFree event; bring a chair or blanketPopcorn and beverages provided8-11 p.m.: Haunted houseSilver Bay YMCAHaunted house event inside Paine HallSaturday, Oct. 217 p.m.: Live music around TiconderogaMusic at Ledge Hill Brewing from 7-9 p.m.Music at War Cannon Spirits in Crown Point starting at 7 p.m. County: How do you use Queensbury area trails? Tuesday, Oct. 243:30 p.m.: Pumpkin decoratingNorth Country Community College Ticonderoga CampusFree pumpkin decorations with refreshments and other festivitiesWednesday, Oct. 25...

Woman accused of appearing in sexually explicit videos with child

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:57:42 GMT

ST. LOUIS -- A 25-year-old woman is accused of sending photos of and sexually abusing a child. Raven Pointer, 25, faces charges including child molestation and promoting child pornography. Source: Majority of St. Louis cops in police district call in sick The probable cause statement says that Homeland Security was notified that Pointer was sending explicit videos of a child in March. Pointer admitted to being the person in the video touching the genitals of a child under 12-years-old.A warrant for Pointer's arrest was issued Thursday. She is being held on a $75,000 cash-only bond. St. Louis County detectives are handling this investigation.