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New York governor vetoes change to wrongful death statute, nixing damages for emotional suffering

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:34 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has again vetoed legislation that would have changed the state’s wrongful death statute by letting families recover damages for emotional suffering from the death of a loved one.Hochul declined Friday to sign the Grieving Families Act for the second time this year. In a veto memo, the Democrat said she favors changing the statute but the bill lawmakers sent her had the “potential for significant unintended consequences.”Among Hochul’s concerns, she said, were the possibility of increased insurance premiums for consumers and a risk to the financial well-being of public hospitals and other health care facilities.New York is one of just a few states that account only for economic loss in wrongful death lawsuits. Almost all states allow family members to be compensated for emotional loss.The head of the New York State Trial Lawyers Association, David Scher, called Hochul’s veto “a grave miscarriage of justice.”The governor’...

Police believe B.C. man’s 21 drunk driving convictions most in Canadian history

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:34 GMT

ABBOTSFORD, B.C. — Police in Abbotsford, B.C., say a man who has been convicted of drunk driving 21 times could hold a Canadian record. Abbotsford police say officers were called to the scene of a motorcycle crash in August 2022, where they found a person who was a passenger on the bike being treated for serious injuries. Police say the owner and driver of the motorcycle was known for his history of impaired driving, and tried to flee before officers arrived.They say an investigation led to the arrest of 66-year-old Roy Heide, whose blood alcohol level was twice the legal limit at the time of the crash. Police say Heide pleaded guilty to multiple impaired driving infractions on Dec. 18, receiving a total jail sentence of just under five years, and he has now been convicted of impaired driving 21 times. Abbotsford police say it’s believed to be the most convictions for impaired driving a person has received in Canadian history, warning of drinking and driving’s “dev...

North Dakota lawmaker’s district GOP echoes call on him to resign after slurs to police in DUI stop

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:34 GMT

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Local Republican Party leaders of a North Dakota lawmaker’s own district joined calls on Friday for him to step down after his vulgar comments to police earlier this month during his traffic stop and arrest on a charge of drunken driving.In a Facebook statement, the North Dakota District 23 GOP Executive Committee said it has “lost confidence” in Republican state Rep. Nico Rios’ ability to represent voters’ best interests. The committee requested his resignation.“The language and slurs that Rep. Rios chose to use disrespected and belittled officers during his violation and are not consistent with our beliefs and party platform,” the committee said.The local party joins Republican House Majority Leader Mike Lefor and state party officials who on Tuesday called on Rios to resign after the Dec. 15 traffic stop, during which he blasted Williston police with profane, homophobic and anti-migrant language.In a statement on Wednesday, Rios said he is ...

Cargo ship carrying lithium ion batteries ordered to continue to Alaska despite a fire in cargo hold

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:34 GMT

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A cargo vessel carrying lithium-ion batteries has been ordered to continue to Alaska after a fire was reported in its cargo hold. The U.S. Coast Guard said Friday the fire is contained but ongoing. The 410-foot (125-meter) cargo ship Genius Star XI was directed to continue to the port at Dutch Harbor, Alaska. A Coast Guard airplane and the Coast Guard ship Alex Haley were sent to assist.The ship was located about 225 miles (362 kilometers) southwest of Dutch Harbor when they reported the fire early Thursday morning, the guard said in a release.It was not immediately known if there were injuries, how many crew members were aboard the vessel or when it would arrive at Dutch Harbor, which is one of the nation’s busiest fishing ports. The Coast Guard’s Alaska division office in Juneau didn’t immediately return an email Friday afternoon.When the ship does arrive, it will remain offshore as response crews prepare to assist, the Coast Guard release said.“This will ...

A 14-year-old boy is arrested on suspicion of killing parents, wounding sister in California attack

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:34 GMT

A 14-year-old California boy who told police an intruder attacked his family has been arrested on suspicion of killing his parents and severely wounding his 11-year-old sister, authorities said Friday.The boy is suspected of killing his father, Lue Yang, and mother, Se Vang, both 37, at the family’s rural home near the Fresno County community of Miramonte on Wednesday, county Sheriff John Zanoni said at a news conference.He was being held at juvenile hall, the sheriff said. His name wasn’t released because he is a minor.The boy’s sister underwent emergency surgery for critical injuries but was expected to recover, while his 7-year-old brother wasn’t attacked and was in the care of relatives, Zanoni said.The boy made a 911 call claiming that his family was attacked by someone who broke into the home and then fled in a pickup. But detectives found “inconsistencies” in his story and also determined that the victims were attacked using weapons found in the family...

Family members devastated after ride-share driver killed day after Christmas

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:34 GMT

CHICAGO — New details have emerged about a ride-share driver from Venezuela who was shot and killed the day after Christmas. 34-year-old Adriana Arocha-Duque was found dead on Tuesday while police were responding to a car crash in the 4800 block of West Thomas Street. Officers arrived on the scene just before 9 p.m. and found a vehicle that had struck two parked cars. Officers then found Arocha-Duque in the driver’s seat of the crashed car with a gunshot wound to the head. FBI searching for man who robbed bank in Buffalo Grove A witness later told police they saw a man and woman flee from the vehicle after the crash, but the shooting remains unsolved. The victim's nephew, Jose, said his family is devastated about Arocha-Duque's death.Joose said his aunt was more like a sister to him and described her as a brilliant, hard worker who had a lot of friends. While Arocha-Duque didn't have any children, Jose said her dog Hunter was like her baby.Arocha-Duque moved from Venezuela to...

Northeast Austin apartment sprayed with gunfire; residents want answers

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:34 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — It's not something you expect to deal with over the holidays, and certainly not something you want to see when you walk into your apartment after Christmas: bullet holes. That's what happened to three college students who live at the Reserve at Walnut Creek Apartments in northeast Austin. Those roommates said someone shot into their second-story apartment while they were away. "If someone did it on Christmas Eve night; I'm very worried about New Year's Eve. If they're using fireworks to try and cover the sound, or if this is a weird way of celebrating is shooting into apartments," Riley Curnutt said. "So all three of us are getting out of here as soon as we can." The complex has patched the bullet holes inside the apartment, but they're still visible outside. A bullet even went through one of the girls' stockings. Still, they said it could have been much worse if they, or their pets, had been home. A bullet hole in a northeast Austin apartment complex (KXAN photo/Gra...

Authorities report 1 fatality after tracked vehicle breaks through ice on Lake of the Woods

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:34 GMT

NORTHWEST ANGLE, Minn. — One person drowned on Thursday when a tracked vehicle broke through the ice near Flag Island on Lake of the Woods, which straddles the U.S.-Canada border.According to a news release from the Lake of the Woods County Sheriff’s Office, the incident was reported shortly after 8 a.m. Authorities began an immediate search of the area, and the Cass County Lakes Area Dive Team based in Walker was called to assist.Shortly after 3 p.m., the body of a male was recovered in about 10 feet of water, the sheriff’s office said.The incident remains under investigation pending an autopsy, the sheriff’s office said, and the name of the victim will not be released until family members have been notified.The drowning is the latest in a series of ice-related incidents that have occurred elsewhere in Minnesota in recent weeks, the result of widespread rain, wind and unseasonably warm weather. In a news release, the Minnesota DNR said conservation officers and county sheriff’s dep...

Gophers win fifth straight game going into Big Ten play

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:34 GMT

When Gophers guard Mike Mitchell Jr. hit a deep 3-pointer against Maine on Friday, Williams Arena’s public address announcer Jamie Verbrugge added geographical flavor to his call.“From St. Paul!”Mitchell was feeling it in Minneapolis in the first half of a 80-62 win in the final nonconference game of the season.Minnesota (9-3) has won five in a row and has its second nine-win nonconference record in three seasons. In head coach Ben Johnson’s first year, they went 9-1 in 2021-22 before slipping to 7-5 last season.On Friday, Mitchell finished with 18 points; he had a season-high 20 points in the U’s win over Ball State last week.Cam Christie and Pharrel Payne picked up where Mitchell left off in the first half. Christie played in front of older brother, Max, who is in town for the Los Angeles Lakers’ game against the Timberwolves on Saturday night.Christie might have been trying too hard at the start, missing his first six shots but rebounded finish with eight points.Those players ste...

That time Broncos QB Jarrett Stidham led Auburn past Alabama and Georgia in three weeks

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:34 GMT

Jarrett Stidham’s heroics as the Auburn starting quarterback in 2017 plays through Chip Lindsey’s mind as if it happened yesterday.In three weeks, Lindsey — Auburn’s former offensive coordinator — watched Stidham perform what could be considered the unthinkable. First, he threw for three touchdowns in a 40-17 drubbing of top-ranked Georgia.Two weeks later, with Alabama then No. 1 in the country, Stidham rushed 16 yards for a touchdown to solidify the Tigers’ 26-14 upset over the Crimson Tide in the Iron Bowl.“He pulled a run on a zone read and ran through a couple of tackles and willed us to a win,” Lindsey, now the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at North Carolina, told The Denver Post.Not too many college quarterbacks can say they beat Alabama and Georgia in the same season. When Stidham did so in his first season with the Tigers, it gave his coaches every indication he could be a starter in the NFL, and it offers hope that he could perform well as the Broncos’ ...